A three-picture panorama of the Jekyll Island Club Wharf and Marina.

Looking out over the Jekyll River.

The Sidney Lanier Bridge is visible in the distance. If Bing Maps is right, the bridge is just over 5 miles away to the northwest from where I'm standing. While it can't get me as close as the 35x optical zoom of the old SX40HS would, the new SL3's 250 mm lens gets me in far enough with great quality.

I spotted a kayaker off in the distance. The bridge in the background is the Sidney Lanier Bridge, and the structures on the left side of the photo next to the bridge are part of the Colonel's Island Terminal at the Port of Brunswick.

Looking out over the Jekyll River.

Looking north from the Riverfront Lawn.

Zooming in on the marsh.

The Riverfront Lawn is a popular spot for weddings and other events. I've seen chairs here many times during my visits.

We moved to the next seating area to get a better view of the Jekyll Island Club Wharf and Marina.

The tour boat seen in the photo above is part of the Jekyll Island Dolphin Tours fleet.

There have always been a few boats docked at the marina each time I visit the island.

Boats docked at the Jekyll Island Club Marina.

A boat docked at the Jekyll Island Club Marina.

The kayaker is still going strong out on the marsh.

It looks like this person is an independent kayaker out for a nice cruise on the water. However, the Tidelands Nature Center offers guided kayak tours of the saltwater marsh for those interested.

Both M. E. Thompson Bridges are visible from here.

Prior to 1954, the only way onto/off of Jekyll Island was via boat. That all changed on December 11th of that year when the Jekyll Island Causeway, (also known as the Downing Musgrove Causeway), and the M. E. Thompson Bridge opened Jekyll Island to the public. The original bridge was a drawbridge design that was eventually replaced by the current structure. Parts of the old bridge remain for use as fishing and wildlife viewing areas.

The boats seen in the photo above are docked at the Jekyll Island Marina, which is different than the Jekyll Island Club Marina. The Jekyll Island Marina features a public boat ramp.

The Jekyll Island Wharf.

The Riverfront Lawn walkway rejoins Riverview Drive past the wharf and takes visitors to more historic cottages. First in line is Indian Mound Cottage.

Industrialist Gordon McKay developed and manufactured a sewing machine that greatly simplified the process of manufacturing a shoe, (i.e. attaching the sole to the upper). After acquiring a patent, McKay made a fortune supplying the Union Army with footwear during the Civil War. He became a member of the Jekyll Island Club in 1891 and built McKay Cottage in 1892.

Standard Oil co-founder William Rockefeller purchased the cottage in 1905 (after McKay's death in 1903), and named it Indian Mound.

Rockefeller began personalizing Indian Mound by adding a living room, master suite, and huge wrap-around porch. By the time Rockefeller was done, Indian Mound had become a 25 room mansion.

After the Club era, Indian Mound became the Jekyll Island Museum. A two-year restoration was completed in 2010. Today, Indian Mound is used as a meeting/event facility.

Mistletoe Cottage sits next to Indian Mound Cottage.

Locomotive manufacturer and US Representative from Pennsylvania Henry Kirk Porter became a member of the Jekyll Island Club in 1891, and built Mistletoe in 1900. After Porter's death in 1921, Club charter member John Clafin bought Mistletoe from the Porter Estate in 1924.

Clafin remained at Mistletoe until his death in 1938, at which time he was the last charter member of the Club to pass.

For some strange reason, I left my 250 mm lens in place that I had been using while walking along the riverfront. It works great for looking out over the saltwater marsh, but not so good for closer shots. Even so, stitching the two previous photos together produced a good panorama shot of the whole building.

Next in line is Goodyear Cottage.

Frank H. Goodyear's empire originated in the timber industry and expanded into railroading in Pennsylvania and western New York. Frank and his brother, Charles, expanded southward when they purchased 300,000 acres of white pine in eastern Louisiana and opened the Great Southern Lumber Company in 1902. Needing a place to house the company's workers, the Goodyears created an entire town, Bogalusa, Louisiana.

Goodyear became a member of the Jekyll Island Club that same year. His private cottage was completed in 1906. Unfortunately, Goodyear's time in his new cottage was very short. He died the following year in 1907.

Goodyear Cottage has been restored and is currently used by the Jekyll Island Arts Association as a gift shop and exhibition space.

The last cottage along Riverview Drive is Moss Cottage.

Retired owner of the Philadelphia Marble Works, Willilam Struthers, was an early member of the Jekyll Island Club from 1887 - 1890. After being absent for a few years, Struthers returned to the Club in 1895 and built Moss Cottage a year later.

In the era of "bigger is better" cottage construction at the Club, Moss Cottage was actually regarded as very simple, unassuming, and nowhere near as expensive as those built by some of the neighbors.

Struthers remained a member of the Club until his death in 1911.

His daughter, Jean, later sold Moss Cottage to George H. Macy, president of the Union Pacific Tea Company.

Once past Moss Cottage and a neighboring large vacant lot, a walkway circles pedestrians back toward Old Plantation Road. That vacant lot, (that I somehow failed to take a picture of * * * Facepalm.jpg * * *), was once home to the Club's youngest charter member, 25-year-old Walter Rogers Furness who built Furness Cottage in 1890.

From here, the story becomes quite . . . mobile . . . in nature. Furness sold his cottage in 1896 to fellow Club charter member newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer, (i.e. the Pulitzer Prize). Pulitzer stayed in the cottage a very short time, and then moved it roughly 125 feet to make room for a much larger cottage he was planning to build. The Furness building then became quarters for the Pulitzer family staff.

The cottage was moved again when Buffalo, NY coal magnate John J. Albright bought the property from the Pulitzer family in 1914. The cottage was moved a third time to its current location at the southern end of Old Plantation Road when Frank Goodyear bought it in 1929. The original physical building still exists today. But the original site of the building, next to Moss Cottage, is now vacant.

Once past the vacant lot, we stayed on the walkway and circled around heading back toward Old Plantation Road. This pedestrian-only walkway is lined with giant Live Oak trees.

Lots of giant Live Oak trees covered in Spanish Moss.

We turned onto Pier Road which runs east-west through the center of the Historic District. In its heyday, the Jekyll Island Club mimicked a small city. Various support services were needed, many of which were located along Pier Road. As the name implies, Pier Road eventually leads to the wharf area where supplies, and residents with large private boats, arrived at the island. Today, Pier Road is home to various Island shoppes. The Commissary, seen on the right in the photo above, used to be the General Store for the Club members. Georgia-based foods can be purchased there today.

The great weather and light crowds made this a great adventure ! But now it was time to head back to the car and onward to our next stop.