A few photographs around Saint Simons Island, Ga.

Saint Simons Island, Ga Light House.  The Lighthouse and Keeper's Dwelling were built in 1872 to replace the original lighthouse built in 1810 by James Gould of Massachusetts, the first lighthouse keeper. The original lighthouse was destroyed by Confederate forces in 1861 to prevent the beacon's use by Federal troops during the Civil War.

Saint Simons Island, Ga sunrise looking over rocks.  "The Johnson Rocks" (named after Pres. Johnson who came to St Simons Island, Georgia, after the 1964 hurricane.) The rocks help protect the Island from the loss of the beach.

Saint Simons Island, Ga looking at the lighthouse from the pier

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Saint Simons Island, Ga pier.  Located in Pier Village at the end of Mallery Street, the St. Simons Island Pier provides outdoor lighting along the full length of the pier, thus making it an excellent location for an evening stroll after dinner. The pier overlooks St. Simons Sound, which is visited annually by North Atlantic Right Whales, usually seen between December and March, as they migrate from the northeastern United States to the calving area in the southeastern United States. Other months of the year you can spot dolphin feeding along the coast and an occasional massive cargo ship passing by on its way to deliver hundreds of imported automobiles to the Port of Brunswick

Saint Simons Island, Ga pier.  The village got its start in the 1870s resort period when vacationers traveled from the mainland on steamships. Most of the early historic buildings of St. Simons were destroyed by fire. The St. Simons Hotel was built in 1888 near Massengale Park, which was linked to the pier by mule-drawn trolley. The grand structure, large enough to host 300 guests, was destroyed by fire in December of 1898. The New St. Simons Hotel was built at the same location in 1910, but in 1916, it was too burned. Nonetheless, St. Simons continued to be popular with vacationers, and four other hotels were established near the pier, including the Bellevue, which was renamed St. Simons Hotel.

Saint Simons Island, Ga pier

Saint Simons Island, Ga pier

Saint Simons Island, Ga Orlander flowers

 

Saint Simons Island, Ga gazabo.  Neptune Park, located between the village and lighthouse, is St. Simons's most famous park, where visitors can picnic, take a trolley tour of the Island, fish off the pier, stroll on the pathway, or relax on a bench. Here visitors may listen to the cackling of iridescent boat-tailed grackles in the live oak canopies, or the screech of begging seagulls, or the noble silence of brown pelicans perched on the pier. One might want to examine finned trophies that lie gasping in buckets if local fishermen have been lucky angling the deep currents that flow past the pier. The beach is best explored at low tide when one might find whelks, horseshoe crabs, and sand dollars.

Saint Simons Island, Ga lighthouse

Saint Simons Island, Ga east beach boardwalk

Saint Simons Island, Ga east beach boardwalk with sea oats

Saint Simons Island, Ga Christ Church.  Christ Church, Frederica is one of the oldest churches in the state of Georgia, and one of the most photographed sites on the island. The breathtaking structure is as much a testament to architecture as is it to spirituality. 

Saint Simons Island, Ga Christ Church.