December 26: Fort Frederica National Monument . . .
Read MoreThe British Colony of Georgia was born in 1732 when General James Oglethorpe was granted a charter by King George II. The colony was to be established in an area referred to as "Debatable Land" in between the British Carolinas and Spanish Florida. Great Britain and Spain didn't like each other very much in those days, (hadn't liked each other for several centuries, actually). Oglethorpe saw Georgia, being the southern-most of the original Thirteen Colonies, as a good place to establish a military buffer for defense in case Spain ever thought about expanding its territory.
Oglethorpe established a fort and town on St. Simons Island in 1736. The name "Frederica" was chosen as an homage to King George II's son Frederick, Prince of Whales, but feminized to Frederica to avoid confusion with Fort Frederick in Port Royal, South Carolina. Little by little, settlers made their way across the pond to begin new lives. The town's population grew to more than 1,000 over the next decade.
Conflicts arose between Oglethorpe's regiment and Spanish soldiers from Florida culminating in the Battle of Bloody Marsh in 1742. The Spanish were defeated and forced to retreat never to bother Fort Frederica again. And all was well . . .
. . . until Oglethorpe's regiment was disbanded in 1749. With the main reason why the town existed in the first place now gone, Fort Frederica began a period of decline. Many of the residents relocated, and the population dwindled. A great fire in 1758 reduced what was left to ruins. The town was abandoned a short time later.
Fort Frederica was rediscovered in the early 20th century. National Monument status was granted in 1936. Archaeological exploration of the site began in 1947. Today, Fort Frederica National Monument is open to the public. Being one of the places I was unable to see last year, I made sure it was going to be open this year.Fort Frederica was laid out according the Oglethorpe Plan, an urban planning method created by General James Oglethorpe and previously utilized when he founded Savannah in 1732. The town was populated mostly by those familiar with a specific trade who prospered supplying the needs of the regiment soldiers.
Dwellings in Fort Frederica were built mainly from wood. Some of the nicer homes in the town were made of brick or tabby. Those who needed temporary shelter while waiting for a house to be built, or who just could not afford a house at all built thatched huts which is suspected in this case. Historical records indicate a butcher shop occupied the lot shown in the photo above. But no trace of a building has been found.
Even though the town started to decline in 1749 after Oglethorpe's regiment was disbanded, "new" homes have been discovered on the premises. In the case of the remnants seen in the photo above, records seem to indicate that James Spaulding built a home on this lot around 1768. Artifacts from the 19th century were discovered when the remains were excavated.
And just like it is today, the close quarters can cause neighbors to get on each other's nerves. Tavernkeeper Samuel Davison and his family lived in the left house next to surgeon and magistrate Dr. Thomas Hawkins and his family. Records seem to indicate the 18th century version of a Jerry Springer episode often took place on the lot shown in the photo above.
Surviving in this era required the ability to be self-sufficient. Oglethorpe realized that a massive amount of reserve provisions would needed for survival and constructed two large storehouses. These brick and timber buildings were 60 feet long, 20 feet wide, and three stories tall. The North Storehouse was built in 1736 and is thought to have contained food, tools, and weapons. Records seem to indicate that it was also used as a courthouse and church.