A Secret Getaway Used By The Rich And Famous During The Gilded Age.
In November, 1910, some of the world’s most powerful men - politicians, bankers and financiers - boarded a train headed south for Georgia. Traveling under false names, they claimed to be duck hunters, but in reality, they would spend a week in secretive talks at the remote Jekyll Island Club, a conference that eventually gave birth to the Federal Reserve System.
Of course, not all secret meetings on Jekyll had international implications. When Alva Vanderbilt, an early activist for women’s rights, divorced her wealthy husband in 1895, then precipitously married a Jekyll Island house guest, Oliver Belmont, the scandal rocked the island’s close knit community.
Residents on the island were the one-percenters of their age, millionaires with names still famous today - J.P. Morgan, Vincent Astor, William Rockefeller, Joseph Pulitzer, William K. Vanderbilt, Marshal Field - and what they needed, in the frenetic decades that followed the Civil War, was a place to get away from it all. Like many snowbirds since, they were looking an escape from harsh northern winters, a private retreat where they could get close to nature. From this beginning, the Jekyll Island Club, rustic getaway of the Gilded Age, was born.
“They wanted a campy atmosphere, not too stuffy or elegant,” Bruce Piatek, director of historic resources for the Jekyll Island Authority, told The Buzz. “The club was a place where they could let their hair down, go to the beach, enjoy fishing or hunting.”
Even while reveling in the simple camp lifestyle, Gilded Age society cut no corners. Picnics and barbecues were served on bone china. Ladies typically changed their outfits ten times a day.
“For them, this was simplicity,” said Sherri Zacher, concierge of the club today. “They were really roughing it.” Sherri leads tours of the historic hotel, priced at $10 for non-guests, Monday through Thursday.
The club opened in January, 1888. By 1904, the Jekyll Island Club was described as “the richest, the most exclusive, the most inaccessible club in the world” in the pages of New York’s Munsey’s Magazine, the tabloid press of the day.
The clubhouse, built in the Queen Anne style, features a turret, leaded glass windows and elaborately carved oak woodwork. Outside, members could play croquet or enjoy a dip in the heated swimming pool. The elegant Grand Dining Room served a menu that featured wild game shot by members. It was also the scene of frequent soirees, including a post-Christmas costume extravaganza, which opened the club’s winter season.
While many members chose to live in the clubhouse, others built their own winter homes on the nearby grounds. Some of these so-called “cottages” spanned tens of thousands of square feet, intended to comfortably house extended families, as well as servants, for several months every winter. Rockefeller’s cottage, Indian Mound, included 25 rooms.
From the club grounds, shell roads ran across the island to the ocean beach, which features some 10 miles of white sand favored by nesting sea turtles. Golf was popular. The historic Great Dunes course, laid out in 1910, and frequented by many members, is still in operation.
One of the unusual aspects of the Jekyll club was the freedom women enjoyed to participate in club activities. Female guests rode horseback, played golf and tennis, hunted and fished alongside their male family members. They could also swim at the beach or pool, and indulge in that popular new sport, riding bicycles as long as servants were with them.
Bicycling was a popular pastime on Jekyll from its earliest days, and remains so today. More than 20 miles of paved bicycle trails lace the island and are available for rent at the Jekyll Island Club.
After the dual blows of the Great Depression and the World War II, the Jekyll Island Club fell on hard times. The entire island was bought by the state of Georgia in 1947, and is current;u managed by the Jekyll Island Authority, tasked with promoting and preserving both Jekyll’s rich history and its natural treasures.
Today, the Jekyll Island Club has been restored to its former glory and is ranked among the top 500 resorts in the world. Classified a National Historic Landmark, the shady grounds are crossed by a trail leading past signboards detailing the resort’s history.
Several restored buildings are open to the public for modest fees, including Indian Mound and the magnificent 1904 Faith Chapel, known for its Notre Dame style gargoyles and stained glass windows, including one signed by Tiffany. The chapel is open free for private contemplation every morning from 8 to 10 a.m.
Refreshments are available at Latitude 31º, formerly and currently the raw bar on the wharf where millionaires once docked their private yachts. Another option is lunch in the courtyard of the Italianate Crane Cottage, one of the more magnificent “cottages,” before a tour of the first floor.
In addition to the historic district, Jekyll Island’s attractions include the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, a campground, a casino cruise boat, and a water park. Visitors can rent kayaks, canoes and paddleboards to explore the local marshes, immortalized as “The Marshes of Glynn” by poet Sidney Lanier, at the 4-H Tidelands Nature Center and local outfitters.
Jekyll Island is located just south of Brunswick, Georgia and can be reached via a causeway off US 17, a few miles from its junction with I-95. A daily vehicle pass to the island ranges from $6 to $10 and includes parking throughout the island, plus access to the beach, fishing pier and historic district.
Renee Wright
A graduate of Franconia College in Social Psychology, Renee has worked as Travel Editor for Charlotte Magazine and has written three travel guidebooks for Countryman Press among other writing assignments. She enjoys food and camping.
Make Sure To Stay At:
Jekyll Island Campground, whose exquisite natural beauty has long drawn guests to its barrier shores. From the Native American and British settlers to the Jekyll Island Club millionaires and the thousands of guests who arrive today, the Island is a haven of history and wonder.