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Fort Frederica Barracks
Fort Frederica National Monument: Barracks. The Barracks was a square structure of which this was the gatehouse.
"The Barracks ... Original building was 90 feet square; only two story portion of tower walls stand today. Served as troop quarters for 200 British soldiers, part of the only British Regiment stationed in the 13 colonies. It was also a hospital and housed Spanish prisoners of war in 1743".
National Register of Historic Places 66000065 . P1210228The Golden Isles are four barrier islands along the south Georgia coast. Our next stop was St. Simons Island, largest of the group. They have been known as the Golden Islands since the early 18th century, the moniker is not just a recent tourist promotion. The earliest settler, Sir Robert Montgomery, was probably looking for gold north of Spanish Florida. James Oglethorpe came a decade later in 1734 to scout sites for permanent settlements. Today St. Simons is a popular golf and conference center and, along with neighboring Jekyll Island, a beach resort. (It is also an upscale residential area, evidenced by the many name-brand stores discreetly tucked behind the oak trees and palms of the island.)
The Torras Causeway led us from the mainland and Brunswick across marshland at the head of St. Simons Sound to the island. (It was very reminiscent of the causeway to Chincoteague on the Eastern Shore of Virginia.) A few people appear to live on the marshland. (It must be very full of humidity and mosquitoes in summer!) St. Simons Island itself is interesting. Plentiful forests have not been disturbed by development. In fact, most development is well hidden behind the trees. Thus, driving
Town Moat and Wall
Fort Frederica National Monument: Ruins of the old town moat and wall. A palisaded earthwork enclosed the town site.
"The Town Moat: Originally described by General Oglethorpe as a 'wet ditch 10 foot wide'. It was 6 or 8 feet deep. Grass covered embankments around the townsite delineate the moat today. It is presently dry. It was built in 1739 with a wall behind it to protect Frederica from a land attack".
National Register of Historic Places 06000065. P1210238p1 on the island is like driving through a forest, with a few signs pointing down side roads to residential neighborhoods, shopping centers, or retreat areas. The way to the Fort Frederica historical site was well marked.
Our principal goal on St. Simon's was to visit Fort Frederica National Monument. I had come up with the idea to visit Fort Frederica and it was a worthwhile visit. It surprised all three of us.
Fort Frederica National Monument preserves the site of the colonial Georgia town and fort of Frederica. The National park Service has done an outstanding job in preserving and interpreting the remains of the 18th century British settlement. Georgia was the last of the 13 Colonies to be founded. Savannah had been in existence only a few years when James Oglethorpe (1696-1785) scouted the area of St. Simons Island for a new settlement. He brought 116 English settlers to the island in 1736. Frederica grew quickly, reaching 1,000 by 1740. The town was laid out in a grid pattern by the Frederica River, with wide (75 foot) main streets (not on the squares patter followed in Savannah and Brunswick). Initially crude huts were built, followed by houses
Fort Frederica Historical Plaque
Fort Frederica historical plaque.
National Register of Historic Places 66000065.
P1210175 and a fort constructed of wood and then tabby. Tabby was a colonial building material made from lime, sand and oyster shells. A type of early concrete.
Olgethorpe built the fort on the river, garrisoned by Highland troops and his own 42nd Regiment of Foot. Therein lay a key purpose of the fortified settlement. The British wanted to keep the Spanish from moving north from Florida into Georgia and the Carolinas. The garrison was involved in two major actions. In 1740, during the "War of Jenkins Ear", Olgethorpe's troops laid siege to Spanish St. Augustine, but retreated. The Spanish, in turn, attacked St. Simons Island in 1742, but were repulsed. Peace between Britain and Spain in 1749 saw the withdrawal of troops from Frederica. Even though Frederica craftsmen traded with New York, the town could not sustain itself without the garrison and went into decline. A fire in 1758 finished it off. Today, parts of the fort stand, but only the foundations of the houses remain. Remarkably, much is known about the people who lived in Frederica and many interpretive signs explain who lived at a house and what they did. The houses were built of timber, or of
John Le Vally House
Fort Frederica National Monument: Le Valley House foundation.
"John Le Vally House...tabby foundation...this was the home of Frederica's shoemaker".
National Register of Historic Places 66000065. P1210183 tabby, a mixture of sand, limestone, and oyster shells. (Bricks were difficult to come by in the sea islands.) Visitors can walk the streets and learn about life in the colonial Georgia frontier. In many ways, the town reminds of me of Colonial Williamsburg without the restored or reconstructed buildings. The street plan is similar and merchants and tradesmen operated their businesses in their homes.
Though little of the 18th century village and fort remain, the site is excellently interpreted. Foundations have been marked out by shells and tabby. It is set on the banks of the Frederica River, surrounded by tall oak trees languidly streaming with Spanish Moss. A typical Southern landscape if ever there was one!
Leaving the Fort Frederica site, we stopped at the Wesley Oak and Christ Church. It seems both Charles and John Wesley (the founders of Methodism) were here as chaplains to Oglethorpe in 1736. They presided at services though Frederica never had a church building. (Worship services were conducted outdoors or in homes.) Christ Church Parish was not founded until 1808, fifty years after the demise of Frederica, and the present frame church erected in 1884. We caught it between Sunday
Holzendorf House
Fort Frederica National Monument: Holzendorf house foundation. The site was originally owned by John Humble who built a simple hut about 1736. Humble was the harbor pilot. Dr. Frederick Holzendorf built a two-story tabby house after 1743.
National Register of Historic Places 66000065. P1210185 services, so were able to park and get a photo of the attractive church and its setting.
Retracing our route, we left St. Simons Island to return to US Highway 17 on the mainland. US 17 took us over the Sidney Lanier Bridge (a cable-stayed bridge named for the Georgia poet) and past the port of Brunswick. We rejoined I-95 and headed for Florida.
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