St. Simons, Georgia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

St. Simons is a census-designated place and town located on St. Simons Island in Glynn County, Georgia. Both the town and the island are commonly considered to be one location, known simply as "St. Simons Island." The town of St. Simons is part of the Brunswick, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area, and according to the 2000 census had a population of 13,381.

St. Simons Island is one of Georgia's renowned Golden Isles (along with Sea Island, Jekyll Island, and Little St. Simons Island). It is also the largest of the Golden Isles. The town is also a resort community and has many seasonal residents, as well as a steady base of year-round residents. Consequently, many of the residents are retired individuals from other parts of Georgia or the United States.^{[citation needed]}

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 History
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Geography

St. Simons is located at 31°9′40″N, 81°23′13″W (31.161250, -81.386875)^GR1, approximately 12 miles (19 km) inland from Brunswick, Georgia, the sole municipality in Glynn County and the country government seat.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 46.3 km² (17.9 mi²), 43.0 km² (16.6 mi²) of which is land and 3.2 km² (1.2 mi²) of it (7.00%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 13,381 people, 6,196 households, and 3,804 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 311.0/km² (805.8/mi²). There were 8,437 housing units at an average density of 196.1/km² (508.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 94.29% White, 3.69% African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.93% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.28% from other races, and 0.63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.89% of the population.

There were 6,196 households out of which 22.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.8% were married couples living together, 6.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.6% were non-families. 32.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.71.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 19.3% under the age of 18, 4.6% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 30.7% from 45 to 64, and 21.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females there were 86.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.8 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $58,475, and the median income for a family was $73,580. Males had a median income of $50,725 versus $32,351 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $37,256. About 2.4% of families and 4.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.6% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] History

[edit] Spanish Florida

During the 17th century, St. Simons Island was one of the most important settlements of the Mocama missionary province of Spanish Florida. After the founding of South Carolina in 1680, conflict between the English and Spanish wrecked havoc on the Sea Islands. James Moore of South Carolina led a combined land and sea invasion of Florida in 1702 which essentially destroyed the Spanish mission system on the islands. Surviving Indians were subjected to slave raids leaving the islands depopulated by the time the colony of Georgia was founded.

[edit] Fort Frederica

Fort Frederica, now Fort Frederica National Monument, was the military headquarters of the Province of Georgia during the early colonial period, and served as a buffer against Spanish incursion from Florida. Nearby is the site of the Battle of Bloody Marsh, where on July 7, 1742, the British ambushed Spanish troops marching single file through the marsh and routed them from the island, which marked the end of the Spanish efforts to invade Georgia during the War of Jenkins' Ear.

[edit] American Revolution

An important naval battle in the American Revolution (the Frederica Naval Action) was won by the American Colonists near St. Simons on April 19, 1778. Colonel Samuel Elbert was in command of Georgia's Continental Army and Navy. On April 15, 1778 he learned that four ships (including the Hinchinbrook, the Rebecca, and the Galatea) from British East Florida were sailing in St. Simons Sound. Elbert commanded about 360 troops from the Georgia Continental Battalions at Fort Howe to march to Darien, Georgia. There they boarded three Georgia Navy galleys: the Washington, commanded by Captain John Hardy ; the Lee, commanded by Captain John Cutler Braddock; and the Bulloch, commanded by Captain Archibald Hatcher. On April 18 they entered Frederica River and anchored about 1.5 miles (2 kilometers) from Fort Frederica. On April 19 the colonial ships attacked the British ships. The Colonial ships were armed with heavier cannons than the British ships. The galleys also had a shallow draft and could be rowed. The wind died down and the British ships had difficulty maneuvering in the restricted waters of the river and sound. Two of the British ships ran aground and the British escaped to their other ship. The battle showed how effective the galleys could be in restricted waters over ships designed for the open sea. The Frederica Naval Action was a big boost to the morale of the Colonists in Georgia.

[edit] Lumber for ships

Saint Simons' next military contribution was due to the Naval Act of 1794, when timber harvested from two thousand Southern live oak trees from Gascoigne Bluff was used to build the USS Constitution and five other frigates (see Six original United States frigates). The USS Constitution is known as "Old Ironsides" for the way the cannonballs bounced off the hard live oak planking.

[edit] Wesley brothers

During the colonial period, Saint Simons served as a sometime home to John Wesley, the minister of the colony who later went on to found the Methodist Church. Wesley performed missionary work at St Simons while he was still in the Anglican Church, but he felt despondent over his inability to bring about revivals (writing that the local inhabitants had more tortures from their environment than he could describe for Hell). In the 1740s John Wesley's brother Charles Wesley did missionary work on St. Simons.

[edit] Christ Church

In 1808 the State of Georgia gave one hundred acres (0.4 km²) of land on St. Simons to be used for a church. The church was called Christ Church, Frederica, and was finished in 1820. During the Civil War, invading Union troops commandeered the small building to stable horses and nearly destroyed it. The church was rebuilt in 1889, and this historic building is still in use as of 2007.

[edit] Cotton production

During the plantation era, Saint Simons became a center of cotton production known for its long fiber Sea Island Cotton. Nearly the entire island was cleared of trees to make way for several cotton plantations. One of the last slave ships to bring slaves from Africa docked at St. Simons Island, but the slaves marched off the boat into the water, dragged down by their chains, and drowned themselves rather than become slaves. An original slave cabin still stands in one location.

[edit] St. Simons Island lighthouse

Main article: St. Simons Island Light

St. Simons Island Light is a lighthouse near the entrance to St. Simons Sound in United States Coast Guard district number 7. It is 104 feet (32 m) tall and uses a third order fresnel lens. The light keeper's residence is a two-story Victorian brick structure.

Established in 1811, the light was first lit in 1872, was automated in 1954 and is still operational.

The original octagonal tower on the site was blown up by confederate forces in 1861 to prevent its use by Union forces.

The current structure is an active lighthouse for navigational purposes and a museum. It is on lease from the United States Coast Guard to the Coastal Georgia Historical Society and is open to the public.