Tag: historic preservation

Meet Our Donors: Douglas & Karen Rucker

Posted on | by Matthew Humphrey

Douglas and Karen (Mills) Rucker had already decided to spend their Golden Years in the Golden Isles before an almost too-good-to-be-true career choice on Jekyll Island presented itself to him.

“We were living in San Diego…it was the middle of Covid…and we were thinking that California might not be our ‘forever,’” said Douglas.

“We love to travel–and have visited and lived in some amazing places–but we wanted an anchor,” Karen said. “We wanted some place that felt like ‘home.’”

So, sites unseen, the Ruckers and two of their friends bought three adjacent parcels of land on St. Simons Island. “And then this opportunity on Jekyll comes up,” said Douglas, who works with Noble House Hotels & Resorts, the company responsible for operating the Jekyll Island Club Resort after it sold 2021. “I had visited the area some years ago, but this more recent connection through our St. Simons decision was a crazy coincidence. I interviewed for my current role as Area Managing Director and took the job based on the reputation of—and what I already knew and appreciated about—the Island.”

Part of his personal and professional appreciation for what Jekyll has to offer comes from hospitality management roots developed in his former home base of Michigan. “I twice worked for the family that owns The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, which opened its doors in 1887,” he said. “Jekyll Island Club, although not originally a hotel but a private clubhouse for America’s wealthy, opened its doors in the winter of 1888. A love of history and historic hotels, where we prefer to stay when we travel, were big motivators for choosing this area to make our permanent home.”

“We have also always been attracted to islands, to water, and to smaller communities,” said Karen, a Canadian citizen who was on vacation in the Florida Keys 17 years ago when she met Douglas, who was working at a resort in the area. “And of all the places we’ve been since then, Jekyll has the nicest, most welcoming people. We’ve made so many new friends.”

She vividly remembers her first visit to Jekyll. “The view as we drove across the causeway, the moss on the trees in the Historic District, the Club Resort rising like a castle against the sky. It was all so breathtaking.”

That awe remains as the couple settles into their new home at The Moorings at Jekyll Harbor. “Cycling is our favorite activity and mode of transportation,” said Karen. “Every time we ride our bikes from home to the Club [Resort]—crossing the wooden boardwalk bridge with the view of the marsh, the intracoastal waterway, and the Sidney Lanier Bridge in the distance—we pinch ourselves that we live here…in this state park…surrounded by all this beauty. There is something so soulful, so solid, so genuine about this existence.”

As Jekyll Island Foundation investors, stewardship of that beauty now and for future generations is a personal priority. As Champion corporate sponsors, the partnership between the Club Resort and Foundation spans more than two decades and continues today.

“It’s all about the people, from the grassroots to the state level; they are all committed to preservation and conservation,” said Douglas. “That’s a plus because some of the necessary protection efforts take time and need to be well thought out. The Jekyll Island Authority has done—is doing—a great job of this.”

They greatly appreciate the Foundation’s focus on projects that enhance knowledge opportunities not only for residents but for visitors. “The Georgia Sea Turtle Center is such an outstanding example of how donations can improve and extend the life of historic facilities as well as support educational experiences,” said Karen.

She also complimented the Foundation on its honor bench program. “No matter where they are along the bike paths, the benches always seem to be in the right place. They are such a great way to honor someone’s memory while offering a moment to rest and reflect in Jekyll’s peaceful surroundings.”

While travel will always be part of their lives, Douglas and Karen are enjoying how settled and solid they feel in their new home. “The last two years have been pretty special,” said Douglas. “We’re looking forward to doing all we can to be part of the community and to supporting the projects that protect and enhance Jekyll for everyone.”

A Celebration of Preservation

Posted on | by Matthew Humphrey

by Allison Dupuis, JIA Museum Educator

Hollybourne Cottage is set to celebrate Historic Preservation Month this May with a whole host of new developments. The Jacobethan-style cottage was built in 1890 for the Maurice family. Charles Stewart Maurice, the patriarch, was a partner in the Union Bridge Company. His passion for his work directly translated into the design of his family’s Jekyll Island home, where a bridge-like truss helps to support the first and second floors of the house. Charles, his wife Charlotte, and their nine children were fixtures at the Jekyll Island Club for more than half a century. They hosted Christmas parties for employees, welcomed Club member families to their house, and wrote about the broader history of Jekyll Island. Notably, Hollybourne is the only Jekyll Island Club cottage whose ownership stayed within just one family.

Today, Hollybourne is the focus of a decades-long preservation effort. A four-year-long window rehabilitation project was just completed in April, thanks to volunteer, intern, and staff efforts. These groups rehabilitated each of the cottage’s windows with new wood and glass bead, restrung them with new sash cord, painted their exteriors, and oiled their interiors. Every window in the house is now operational.

Thanks to pieces and parts from Historic Resources’ historic fixture collection, one of the three original Hollybourne bathrooms is now operational as well! Volunteers, staff, and interns installed a high-tank toilet and sink. They also ran a new 100-foot waste line and fresh water line to the building. Interestingly, this is the first time that the house’s waste line has run to the sewer rather than the river. Alongside the use of the gun room and servants’ dining room as bride and groom dressing rooms, the newly functional bathroom supports the cottage’s use as an historic venue space for weddings and other special events.

Currently, the Authority’s preservation team is working on an extensive basement structural repair. The team replaced a supporting beam and two damaged joists. They will soon add a vertical support to the basement structure. While working in the basement, members of the team discovered a 1902 contractor’s signature near an electrical fixture—likely left as the Jekyll Island Club prepared for the electrification of the island in 1903.

Finally, work in Hollybourne’s dining room continues. The preservation team applied finishes to the dining room’s interior. The dining room was cleaned and cleared out, while the walls were finished to exhibit level. In the cottage’s next phase, this room will house an exhibit interpreting Hollybourne’s decades-long preservation process. The rest of the cottage’s first floor will be included in the exhibit as well. While Hollybourne is an incredible and unique structure, the new exhibit will reach beyond its architecture to tell the story of the Maurice family and the house’s ongoing preservation. In the meantime, guests can join Mosaic for a daily tour of Hollybourne Cottage and see one of Jekyll Island’s most unique historic homes for themselves!

New Features at Chichota Cottage

Posted on | by Matthew Humphrey

by Allison Dupuis, JIA Museum Educator

Chichota Cottage is rooted in big ideas. In 1897, David H. King, Jr., unveiled his Jekyll Island getaway, but the new house was far from his first project. King was a well-known contractor whose resume included such high-profile projects as the Washington Arch, Madison Square Garden, and the pedestal for the Statue of Liberty. His Italianate villa was the only one-story cottage in the Jekyll Island Club complex, and its courtyard swimming pool was the first pool in a private residence in the state of Georgia.

After a hurricane damaged Chichota in 1898, King sold the cottage to Edwin Gould, a son of railroad magnate and financier Jay Gould. Edwin and his wife Sarah had two young sons, Edwin Jr. and Frank. The family relished their time on Jekyll Island. At one point, the Goulds owned seven contiguous lots within the Jekyll Island Club, where they built both Gould Casino (a playhouse for Edwin Jr. and Frank) and Cherokee Cottage (for Sarah’s parents, Dr. and Mrs. George Schrady). The family spent idyllic seasons on Jekyll Island until 1917, when a hunting accident claimed Edwin Jr.’s life. He was only 23. Sarah vowed never to return to Jekyll Island and had Chichota Cottage boarded up. The cottage fell into disrepair until the Club finally tore down the structure in 1941. The courtyard footprint, imposing guard lions, and some smaller pieces of Chichota’s structure remained.

Today, the ruins of Chichota Cottage stand out for their air of tranquility and mystery. Historic Resources staff have been working hard to activate this space, returning life to what was once a central part of the life of the Jekyll Island Club. Chichota’s center courtyard, once David King’s innovative indoor pool, now serves as an outdoor classroom space. Preservation staff recently filled the pool— the process is reversible if plans for the space change. The tiles used for this process mimic the original tiles used for Chichota’s construction in 1897. Thanks to a donor’s generosity, Historic Resources staff have also been able to pull up and salvage the quarry tiles used in Chichota’s courtyard. Staff also sourced new tiles, which have the same dimensions as the original tiles, but a slightly different color to provide a visible difference between old and new.

Other recent improvements to the Chichota site include a tabby walk to an ADA-accessible ramp, tabby paving of the site’s circular driveway, and a non-chlorine biomass removal process on the entryway’s iconic lions. Over the next few months, Chichota will undergo even more improvements as the site completes its transformation into a usable, multi-tiered venue and classroom space. This transformation is possible thanks to the generosity of Jekyll Island Foundation donors and the work of preservation. Click here to learn more about the Foundation’s initiatives and invest in the preservation of the island’s unique spaces.

Chichota Courtyard Rehabilitation

Posted on | by Matthew Humphrey

By Taylor Davis, JIA Historic Preservationist

Ever since the waning days of the Jekyll Island Club, Chichota Cottage has been a site left to ruin.  The original house was constructed in 1897 by David H. King, Jr. of New York.  King was a notable contractor whose projects included the base of the Statue of Liberty, Madison Square Garden, and the Washington Arch.  

King built his unique cottage on Jekyll Island as a single-storied, Italian Renaissance house surrounding a central courtyard, complete with a swimming pool fed by an artesian well.  After the property was severely damaged in 1898 during one of the worst hurricanes in Jekyll Island history, King sold Chichota to Edwin Gould just three years after construction.

The Goulds enjoyed their winters at Chichota until the 1917 season, when they lost their eldest son in a hunting accident on nearby Latham Hammock.  After years of vacancy, the house fell into disrepair.  It was razed by the Jekyll Island Club in 1941, leaving only the tabby foundations and an empty pool guarded by two marble lions flanking the entry steps. See Lost Jekyll or Pieces of History, pages 56/57.

In recent years, a series of improvements were made to the site to increase guest accessibility and safety amidst the ruins.  As part of this first phase of rehabilitation beginning in 2019, an ADA ramp was constructed to provide access into the ruins, the former entry foyer of the house was paved, and the pool was partially filled to create an outdoor venue and classroom space, with the edge of the pool serving as seating for gatherings. 

A generous gift to the Jekyll Island Foundation funded the second phase of rehabilitation in 2020.  This phase focused on the rehabilitation of what was once Chichota’s enclosed courtyard.  With the help of volunteers and Historic Preservation Field School students from the University of Georgia, the original quarry tiles were removed and salvaged from the courtyard.  A new masonry base was poured, and a mix of original and reproduction quarry tile was laid on top to replicate the original courtyard paving plan. 

As this second phase of the project comes to a close, enhancements to the Chichota site have created a safe and attractive venue for exploration, education, and special event rentals.  Additional improvements are planned for the future to reestablish other areas of the house and fashion outdoor patio spaces. 

Today, the Chichota ruins remain a captivating point of interest for visitors to explore and enjoy.  Visit Mosaic, Jekyll Island Museum to begin your island explorations or plan your special event in the historic district. 

“Maymester” at the Georgia Coast

Posted on | by Matthew Humphrey

By Taylor Davis, JIA Historic Preservationist

This past May, the Jekyll Island Authority, in partnership with the University of Georgia, hosted the 11th annual Historic Preservation Field School at the Georgia Coast Maymester.  “Maymester” is a 3-credit-hour course which consists of a two-week long, intensive dive into historic preservation projects within the Jekyll Island National Historic Landmark District.  The goal of the course is to give students hands-on experience through projects and to educate them about the history, landscape, culture, and architecture of the Georgia coast.  This program also benefits the Jekyll Island Historic District through the students assisting with necessary preservation projects. 

Maymester was conceived in 2009 by UGA professor Mark Reinberger, adjunct professor Tim Walsh, and me, a recent graduate of the Historic Preservation program at UGA.  With the original focus on projects at Hofwyl Broadfield Plantation and in the historic south end of Brunswick, Jekyll has been the site of the Maymester course since 2017.  Currently it is one of the longest running Maymester programs at UGA.

Through the years, projects and locations have varied.  Students have tackled stabilization, documentation, and rehabilitation projects on many historic structures throughout Glynn County.  One of the main project sites in the past was the Smith House in Brunswick, GA, circa 1867.

Student make-up for the field school is a mixture of undergraduate and graduate students from many different concentrations of study including historic preservation, architecture, landscape architecture, history, and even biology.  The 2021 class consisted of 12 students from UGA and one student from Clemson University.  This is the first year that the course was advertised outside of UGA, with the hope that it will be further reaching in the future – open to students from all over the southeastern United States. 

With the large number of students this year, the team took on more projects than in previous years.  The students assisted in historic window rehabilitation at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, exterior wall stabilization at Goodyear Cottage, scrapping and prepping elements of the rear porch at Mistletoe Cottage, replication of historic woodwork at Indian Mound Cottage, and the beginning phases of rehabilitation of the historic courtyard of the Chichota Cottage ruins.

Ongoing historic preservation efforts in Jekyll’s Historic District are made possible through visitation to the Mosaic, Jekyll Island Museum and through donations to the Jekyll Island Foundation.  So get involved and donate today! 

Celebrate Preservation Month

Posted on | by Matthew Humphrey

By Allison Dupuis, JIA Museum Educator

The story of Hollybourne Cottage began in 1890 when Charles Stewart Maurice, one of the original members of the Jekyll Island Club, chose a plot of land for his family’s winter residence. Maurice’s personality and interests were evident in Hollybourne’s very construction. Maurice was a partner in Pennsylvania’s Union Bridge Company, and he incorporated bridge-building techniques into Hollybourne. The brick piers in the basement, steel support system, and truss system that supports the second floor are all examples of Maurice’s techniques.

Hollybourne’s construction incorporated a mixture of its owner’s passion for his work and his newfound enthusiasm for his family’s winter vacation home. Hollybourne is the only cottage in the Jekyll Island Club compound to be built out of tabby, a local mixture of sand, water, lime, and oyster shells, reflecting Charles’s and his wife Charlotte’s interests in the history and culture of the area. The Maurices’ personal investment in Jekyll Island’s history led them to spearhead the restoration of Horton House and the Dubignon cemetery in 1898. Charlotte died in 1909 and Charles died in 1924, but their family’s Jekyll Island story didn’t end there. Their nine children, especially their daughters Margaret and Marion, were similarly devoted to Jekyll Island, and spent every winter season at Hollybourne Cottage until the Club’s final season in 1942.

Hollybourne sat empty and in a state of disrepair for several decades. Beginning in 1998, however, the cottage became an ongoing preservation project for the Jekyll Island Authority and a host of volunteers. Most recently, volunteers and preservationists spent several months restoring and preserving Hollybourne’s windows. Holllybourne’s present as an ongoing preservation project, as well as its past as a home for a family focused on the preservation of Jekyll Island, make it a perfect destination for this May’s annual celebration of Preservation Month. Visitors can see the family and servant areas of the cottage and observe the preservation process in action or take part in programs that highlight Historic Preservation Month, like family history programs and an outline of international design at the Jekyll Island Club.

To reserve a spot on a tour of Hollybourne Cottage or at one of our Preservation Month activities, click HERE  or to help preserve and restore Hollybourne Cottage, click HERE to donate.

Caring for Collections

Posted on | by Matthew Humphrey

By Andrea Marroquin, JIA Museum Curator

Mosaic, Jekyll Island Museum has launched an artifact conservation program, dedicated to ensuring the long-term care of collections. The goal of the program is to stabilize collection pieces and preserve them for the future. Several recent conservation projects are currently on display and can be enjoyed by guests of the Mosaic.

Have you seen the “ghost tools” on display in the museum’s exhibit gallery? Two tools recovered from Horton House, a planters’ hoe blade and a small trade axe dating from the 1700s to mid-1800s, were actively corroding. The iron objects were cleaned and stabilized to halt their deterioration, and then carefully mounted in front of a transparent background. When viewed from a certain angle, missing portions of the tools become visible.

Museum staff consulted with an art conservator to clean and stabilize a 1931 oil painting by Warren Sheppard depicting the slave ship Wanderer. Treatment involved cleaning the painting, consolidating loose paint, addressing paint loss, and replacing a protective varnish. This project enabled the painting to be placed on exhibit for the first time in decades, as part of the museum’s efforts to share the story of the Wanderer Survivors with the public.

Recently, museum staff brought a circa 1890 carriage out of storage and gave it a gentle cleaning, leather treatment, and fumigation. The carriage was placed on display in the Mosaic lobby as part of “In the Service of Others” – an exhibit detailing the African American community’s vital role in the development of the Jekyll Island Club. In the exhibit, the carriage highlights the story of Charlie Hill, a long-time coachman and caretaker for the Maurice family, who worked on the island for more than five decades.

This year, Jekyll Island also celebrates the 100th Anniversary of Faith Chapel’s Tiffany window. In recognition of the landmark moment, and with a grant from the Friends of Historic Jekyll Island, art glass conservators investigated the needs for the stained-glass window’s ongoing care and preservation. They are currently developing recommendations for conserving this art glass masterpiece for the future. 

Stay tuned for more updates highlighting the museum’s continuing efforts to preserve the past. If you would like to provide support for these type of collections projects, text JekyllMosaic + any donation amount to (844) 889-2692.