The Jekyll Island Authority marked the opening of the Wanderer memorial with a commemorative ceremony and ribbon cutting at St. Andrews Picnic Area on November 25. The Wanderer was the last known slave ship to land in Georgia and the last slaving expedition known to have reached the United States without repercussions. The Jekyll Island Authority Museum hosted ceremonies to celebrate the survivors, their descendants, and the rich heritage they brought to the Georgia Coast. The exhibit was paid for by fund-raising efforts of the Friends of Historic Jekyll Island paid for the exhibit and its installation.
“We want to respectfully remember the enslaved Africans who made it to shore that day for the survivors that they were and for all of the remarkable culture and heritage that they passed on to us here in Coastal Georgia,” said John Hunter, Director of the Jekyll Island Museum. “We hope that both the exhibit and the ceremony will capture that intent.”
Hunter said that the exhibit was designed by Malone Design/ Fabrication out of Atlanta. “Three billowing sails and three imaginative text panels will tell the story of the Wanderer and a new vision begins to take shape in the landscape and in large scale,” Hunter said. “The steel sails are roughly 12 feet tall, and through them we can begin to see the beauty of the vessel’s form, but also the cold hard reality of slavery.”
The text panels will cover the ship’s arrival, the trials, the ship’s specifications, the vessel’s fate, what happened to the survivors, some of their personal stories, a timeline, and the significance of the landing.
The exhibit can be visited at St. Andrews Picnic Area on the south end of Jekyll Island.
The above picture includes Mr. Bob Krueger, Chairman of the Jekyll Island Authority Board, and several of the descendants at the ribbon cutting for the memorial.
Tags: georgia beaches, jekyll island history, jekyll island vacation, last slave ship, slavery, the Wanderer
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