By Andrea Marroquin, Museum Specialist
  
On Saturday, July 11, 2009 at 2:00 pm, venture to Horton House on Jekyll Island, Georgia and meet Major William Horton, a British colonial officer, and his company of soldiers and indentured servants, in a joint living history program offered by Fort Frederica National Monument and the Jekyll Island Museum.
  
Horton, portrayed by Jon Burpee of Fort Frederica National Monument, bellows orders at the 18th century British soldiers drilling with muskets on the grounds, entreats the crowd to join ranks for the safety of the fledgling colony, and explains his grievances against the Spanish. Horton is determined to hold both his Jekyll Island estate and Fort Frederica for England.
  
Soldiers from the Castillo at St. Augustine have been at odds with the English colonists and tensions have been mounting for years. Overtures of peace between the two nations once took place right at Jekyll Island. Now that peace has been broken and the Spanish have grievances of their own. British soldiers are now on constant guard against the appearance of Spanish soldiers in their midst.
  
Horton was the first Englishman to obtain property on Jekyll Island, acquiring a 500-acre land grant in 1735. Horton gained much stature as an officer in the Royal Colony of Georgia. He was placed in charge of the fort on St. Simon’s Island during General Oglethorpe’s absence in England in 1736 and later commanded troops in defense of the colony. During food shortages he supplied corn and beef to Fort Frederica from his own personal supplies on Jekyll Island.
  
Because of his importance, he became a target of the Spanish from St. Augustine. His original two-story wooden house was burned by the Spanish as they retreated across the island following the Battle of Bloody Marsh in July of 1742. This would be the Spanish Army’s final strike against the British in the Colony of Georgia.
  
John Hunter is the director of the Jekyll Island Museum, a division of the Jekyll Island Authority, which maintains the Horton House Historic Site. Hunter points out that the year 1742 was an eventful one for Horton.
  
“In 1742, Horton was placed in command of a new grenadier company of thirty men. His wife and children finally joined him in Georgia after being an ocean apart for many years. Fort Frederica was raided by the Spanish. Finally, his house was burned down and his crops and livestock were destroyed. That all happened by mid-summer!” Hunter exclaimed. “There was constant excitement.”
  
With the help of his indentured servants, Horton rebuilt his home by the following year. The sturdy tabby house still stands today, one of the earliest standing tabby structures in Georgia.
  
Guests are invited to participate in the colonial life of the island through an assortment of activities. These activities are designed to share information about Horton, his family, his servants, and his property on the island, as well as their significant role in producing goods to supply the needs of the struggling British colony.
  
Horton’s servants will demonstrate various chores such as carding and spinning wool, soap making, and blacksmithing, which were all essential skills in the colonial era.
  
In contrast to such labors, guests can try their skills in a variety of 18th century entertainments on the front lawn. Games might include such favorites as hoop rolling, graces, sack racing, and more.
  
During the living history program, visitors can quench their thirst with a dram of Major Horton’s finest beverages. Horton, who established Georgia’s first brewery, will offer up his best hospitality inside of Horton House, with family-friendly drinks poured by his servants. Visitors will be served frothy mugs of ginger-flavored “ale” (ginger ale) or root-flavored “beer” (root beer).
  
Through musket demonstrations, children’s games, food and drink, guests can experience the strategically important role of Jekyll Island in the struggle for British survival in the New World.
  
For more information, call or visit the Jekyll Island Museum on Stable Road, 912-635-4036. Admission to the living history program is free of charge.

Tags: barrier islands, British colony, british soldiers, family vacation, fort frederica, georgia history, Georgia Tourism, georgia's jewel, golden isles, historical reenactments, horton house, jekyll island, Jekyll Island Events, jekyll island history, jekyll island museum, major william horton, Stable Road, tabbie, tabbie ruins, tabby
Posted in Beachscape, July 2009, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

As a partner of Kellogg & Maurice and the Union Bridge Company, Charles Stewart Maurice helped to construct many road and railway bridges that became part of the historic fabric of their communities.

Hollybourne Cottage, the vacation retreat Maurice built on Jekyll Island in 1890 with the help of architect William Day, was designed to be an architectural wonder of its own. This May, in honor of Historic Preservation Month, the Jekyll Island Museum will be opening the bridge-builder’s island mansion up for a limited number of exclusive tours.

Kellogg & Maurice, the company Maurice co-founded in 1871 with partner Charles Kellogg, was a pioneer in iron bridge construction and the second company in the country to build a steel bridge. The company constructed the 3rd Avenue Elevated Railway in New York City (1878), the Smithfield Street Bridge across the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh (1883), as well as bridges in Nova Scotia and Brazil.
In 1884, Kellogg & Maurice merged with other companies to form the Union Bridge Company. This firm constructed many notable spans of the day, including a cantilever bridge crossing the Niagara Gorge. By the time Maurice retired in 1895, he had helped traverse many of the nation’s major waterways and had been instrumental in the construction of major landmarks around the country.

Hollybourne Cottage, the unique vacation retreat Maurice built on Jekyll Island, is just as noteworthy, but it is in need of preservation. That is why Hollybourne Cottage is the focus of the “Reclaiming Past Glories” tour offered by the Jekyll Island Museum this May in celebration of Historic Preservation Month.

“Of all of the cottages in Jekyll Island’s historic district, Hollybourne Cottage currently offers the most challenges to preservation,” remarked John Hunter, the Director of the Jekyll Island Museum. Hunter points out that remarkable progress has been made recently in stabilizing the building’s exterior. “From the shutters, to the porches, to the front door, to the roof, we have tackled some major projects in establishing the long-term stability of the structure. But on the inside we still have a long way to go. That’s why we normally do not allow public access to the interior of this really special cottage.”

Jekyll Island Museum Curator Gretchen Greminger, one of the guides leading the behind the scenes tours, agrees that it is exciting to be able to share this unique structure with the public. But she warned that guests should not expect to see a restored and furnished interior like the cottages that are part of other tours of the historic district. Greminger said that this Historic Preservation Month tour will proceed through the fabulous leaded glass doors of Hollybourne Cottage into the main foyer. Guests will visit the front parlor, the dining room, the gunroom, the kitchen, and the butler’s pantry.

The tour will focus on the preservation efforts that have gone into the building over the last 20 years and on the unique design of the cottage, which was influenced a great deal by Maurice’s background in bridge engineering. While learning about the problems affecting the home’s current condition, visitors will also have the opportunity to view historic photographs of the vacation retreat that will help to envision what it looked like in its original condition when it was a much-loved haven for Mr. and Mrs. Maurice and their nine children.

The “Reclaiming Past Glories” tour departs from the Jekyll Island Museum on Stable Road each Saturday from May 3-31, 2008 at 12:30 pm and 2:00 pm. The cost of the program is $10 for Adults, $5 for Children 6-12, and Free under 6. For more information, call the Jekyll Island Museum at 912-635-4036.

Tags: Hollybourne Cottage, jekyll island history tours, jekyll island museum, National Historic Preservation month, Reclaiming Past Glories, Stable Road
Posted in Beachscape, May 2008 | 1 Comment »