Wormsloe

 Day 186

So far the weather in Savannah has been cool in the morning before climbing into the high twenty’s throughout the day. Being really impressed with Savannah, we discussed on possibly heading back into town to explore further. Noting it was Sunday, we figured some places could be closed for the day and opted to leave the balance of Savannah for tomorrow. 

Today we headed to the outskirts of Savannah to the Wormsloe State Park. Wormsloe park consists of 822 acres protecting part of what was once the  Wormsloe Plantation, a large estate established by one of Georgia’s colonial founders, Noble Jones. The site includes the famous 1.5 mile oak avenue that has been used in movies such as: The Last Song, The Generals Daughter, Roots, The Lincoln Conspiracy, Gator, Magic Mikes XXL and Love to the Rescue. Close to the narrows, the original fortified home of Nobel Jones built from tabby (see photo below for details on tabby), lies in ruins. 

In 1736, Nobel Jones obtained a grant for 500 acres of land on the Isle of Hope that would form the core of Wormsloe. He constructed a fortified house on the southern tip of the island overlooking some narrows. The fortified house was part of a network of defensive structures established by James Oglethorpe, founder of Georgia, to protect Savannah from a potential Spanish invasion. Jones subsequently developed Wormsloe into a small plantation. His descendants built a large mansion on the site which they still reside in. 

Entrance to Wormsloe State Park 

This road is 1.5 mile long. 

Ruins of the fortified home of Nobel Jones. 

The walls of the fortified home was built out of tabby, a type of concrete made by burning oyster shells to create lime, then mixing it with water, sand, ash and broken oyster shells. 

A chunk of tabby up close. 

 In 1776 Nobel Jones was buried alongside his wife Sarah and in 1789 they were joined by their son Indigo. In 1875 Nobel Jones’ great grandson, George Wimberly DeRenne moved Nobel Jones’ remains to Colonial Cemetery in threat of Wormsloe closing. Today Only Sarah and Indigo are known to remain here.  

Overlooking the narrows, now just swamp

A camp is setup demonstrating how people lived in the 1800’s 

A small canon facing the narrows. 

Cooking oven. 

Home in the 1800’s 

Pioneer tents you can camp in, if you so dare.