My wife and I recently stayed at the Jekyll Island Club on Jekyll Island, GA.
It was founded about 100 years ago as a winter retreat by our nation’s titans of industry:
At the turn of the century, tycoons, politicians, and socialites flocked to Jekyll Island to revel in their own luxury and America’s burgeoning wealth. Our historic Georgia Club was described in the February 1904 issue of Munsey’s Magazine as “the richest, the most exclusive, the most inaccessible club in the world.” Its impressive members included such luminaries as J.P. Morgan, William Rockefeller, Vincent Astor, Joseph Pulitzer, William K. Vanderbilt, and other recognizable names on the roster were Macy, Goodyear, and Gould.
Eventually, the state bought the island and opened it to the public. The historic district is really nice, but the rest of the island is an odd mixture of modern development, RV Parks and 1950’s nostalgia.
The historic district is the land surrounding the Club, which includes the many “cottages” built by wealthy families who frequented the resort in the early 20th century.
The whole place is bike and pedestrian-friendly, so we rode around half of the island and took in the sights. The island is covered with trees that droop to the ground:
We even saw an alligator just off one of the bike trails:
I named him Mr. Hyde. Naturally.
