The first Islanders

Before they settled in permanent villages, American Indians came to the coast for shellfish, hunting, and a wide variety of edible plants. The Native Americans would then head back inland towards their villages. Moving between the coast and inland began to change, and the indigenous people moved towards the coastal areas permanently. The Guale settled around the year 1500 in St. Simon’s with almost 200 people, establishing a village called Guadalquini.

The traveling of “Visitor” to the coastal island of Georgia has been going on since there was Wooly Mammoth grazing the pasture lands.  Traces of the human existent have been discovered along coastal Georgia who lived in the Golden Isles 3000 to 5000 years ago. The Native Americans were the first Visitors to enjoy the cool summer night breezes of the coastal island along with the fortification of being away from the Big Chiefs on the Mainland.  Before there were permanent villages on St. Simons Island the Visitors come to coastal Georgia for shellfish, variety of edible plants and for hunting such as fish, alligator snapping turtle, deer, opossum raccoon, alligator, buffalo, fox squirrel, songbirds, wild turkey, bobcats, armadillos, black bears, beavers, geese, coyotes, wild hogs, rats, raccoons, woodpeckers, and foxes.  From excavations, it has been determined that oysters were an every day their diet

At the end of summer, the Native Americans visitors to the coastal island would head back to their inland villages.  I am sure a few remained to watch over the settlement and became they became the first permanent “Resident” of Saint Simons Island.

Many of the local Native Americans followed an annual economic cycle that saw them undertake seasonal migrations in pursuit of plants and animals needed for their existence. It is accepting that the Native American would follow the game and arrive for the warmer months and then migrate to inland during the cooler winter months. The local tribes that lived on the coastal islands were the Guale, Yamasee, and Timucua who are the first residents of the Golden Isles.  Other tribes were Creek, Hitchiti, Oconee and Miccosukee most likely, the first tourist to the Golden Isles.

I am absolutely certain the Yamasee chiefs would complain that the Creeks were coming.  But the Yamasee would trade with these visitors anyway, who had goods such as flints, Pipestone, sterile, hematite, and ochre. These stones found in the archaeological sites are not native to the area.  The Yamasee would tell their children to stay off trails, so they do not get stampede by one of those crazy Creeks riding his big horse. 

One of largest Indian villages of Mocama Indian village named Guadalquiniwas located in Saint Simons Park on Saint Simons Island.  The park is the open space located in what used to be the Tasty Freeze (now DQ) and the ballpark.  In early 1960 the mounds of oyster shells were excavated by a group of armature archeologist.  Some would say they were not an archaeologist but were looters looking for something of wealth in the trash heaps of the Yamasee and their ancestors. In the garbage mounds of oyster shells, turtle bones and other animal bones were discovered the bodies of five Native Americans.  

St. Simons Park St. Simons park was the site of a Mocama Indian village of approximately 100-200 people. The inhabitants used marine resources, agriculture, square wattle and daub houses, stamped and incised Irene Style ceramics, and burial mounds characteristic of this late prehistorical coastal culture. The burial mounds were in use within the chiefdom of Guadalquini from the 1450s-1600s. Artifacts found there include ceramic bowls, pipes, and a rare chevron bead. The refuse midden area revealed that the Indians consumed fish, mollusks, deer, and small animals.
Erected by Georgia Historical Society, Friends of the Park, Coastal Georgia Historical Society and Neptune Garden Club. The armature excavation continued for a few weeks until, the State Archaeologist from Hotlanta, were informed of the excavation.  The State Archaeologist visited the site on Saint Simons Island.  After a review of the documentation being kept by the armature archeologist, the State Archaeologist decided to shut down the local “Armatures.” The remains of the burial are still in the same locations as to where they were discovered in the park.  The remains are guarded by the majestic oaks that have been there for the last 300 to 400 hundred years. That tree guards the burial site to this day with a healthy growth of poison ivy.  I know this for a fact since as a young boy of 14 I observed the excavation for many days.  Without noticing, I leaned against the might oak, and in a few days, I develop an extreme case of poison ivy.  There I a curse on anyone disturbing the graves of the Native Americans Residents of Saint Simons Island.

In the state archives, it has been discovered a record of the first residents of Guadalquini meeting Big Chiefs from the mainland about improvements the Big Chief wanted to make for the “Residents.”  The big chiefs wanted to improve the area along the beach to park more horses saying it was for the benefits of the “Residents.”  The “Residents” responded with, “Guadalquini is for residents first and a tourist’ destination secondly.” The Big Chiefs from the mainland who has governing authorities is always trying to develop the coastal island of Saint Simons Island, and the residents Yamasee would always say no to development.   

Translated from the archives is a story, where the Big Chiefs from the mainland had suggested of wampum, could be exchanged to help pay for the development of new beach access improvements.  One of the Yamasee Residents responded, “If I have to pay wampum every time I go to the beach, that’s a lot of wampum surcharge a year for choosing to live here on the island.”

Amid the cozy log huts and gnarled oaks of this tranquil island, new grand lodging cabins have built to capitalize on island growing appeal for the visitor to vacation. But “Residents,” say this wave of great log huts will destroy the quaint character of Guadalquini. In the past year, six great lodging cabins either have begun construction or received approval the mainland Big Chief in Charge of Planning to meet the growing demands for grand accommodation huts.

Guadalquini' reputation as a popular getaway is nothing new, dating back when wealthy families from mainland began building summer log huts on the islands. One Resident voiced his concern, "How many of these things are we going to make in the Village so nobody can see the campfire on the beach?”

Years later an explorer from the old world discovered the new world, and it was not long that visitor came to Guadalquini, for a wide variety of coastal activities in a beautiful natural setting of sprawling moss-draped Live Oaks, green-gold salt marsh, and sandy beaches.

The European visitors changed the name of the settlement at the south end of the island to San Buenaventura de Guadalquini 1605-1684 and another settlement on the north end of the island called Santo Domingo de Asao/Talaje 1661-1684.  In 1597 there was an uprising resulting in several of the Visitors being killed by the Residents.  The Visitors finally retreated to St. Augustine in 1680.  The respite of from “Visitors” lasted a few years when a not ground of “Visitors” arrived.  Too many in number to fight, the Residents only recourse was to leave their homes of hundreds of years to less populated areas.

The island gets its name from a short-lived Yamassee Indian village known as San Simon, which was established near Fort Frederica by refugees during the late 1660s to 1684. English settlers anglicized the name to St. Simons.  The new residents, the English were now the residents of St. Simons and had to fight a war in 1739 to keep the European visitors the Spanish, from returning.