I continued along the North Loop Trail heading south and soon happened upon the William Horton House Historic Site.

British General James Oglethorpe arrived in the area in the early 18th century and established the Colony of Georgia in 1733. Oglethorpe took note of Spanish settlements to the south in Florida and began making provisions for defense of the Colony which included recruiting troops and establishing defensive positions. Among the recruits was William Horton who was sent by Oglethorpe to establish Fort Frederica on St. Simons Island. Horton eventually reached the rank of Major and was placed second in command under Oglethorpe of the entire region. Eventually, Horton was granted 500 acres of land on Jekyll Island, and established a successful plantation in 1736.

The Horton House dates from 1743 and is one of the oldest surviving buildings in the state of Georgia. The structure is made of Tabby, a native material that consists of sand, lime, and water mixed with crushed oyster shells to form a very strong cement.

I've visited the Horton House Site on several occasions in the past and have taken numerous pictures of whatever I was driving at that time in front of the site. The photo from 2014 with the Porsche Boxster and the photo from 2015 with the Jaguar XJS are now joined by a photo of my two-wheeled ride from today.

William Horton House Historic Site.

William Horton House Historic Site.

Across from the Horton House sits the duBignon Family burial ground. Christophe Poulain duBignon was a French aristocrat, sea captain, and entrepreneur who came to Georgia in 1791 to escape the French Revolution. By 1800, duBignon owned all of Jekyll Island and had settled into the Horton House and established a cotton plantation. His descendants would retain ownership of Jekyll Island until 1886 when it was sold to a group of wealthy northern investors who created the Jekyll Island Club.

The duBignon Family burial ground sits across Riverview Drive from the Horton House. It's interesting to note that Christophe is not buried here. He is said to be buried near this area with the only grave marker being an oak tree, meaning it could be anywhere and will probably never be found. Christophe's wife, Marguerite, is supposed to be buried near her husband. This small cemetery serves as the burial ground for other members of the duBignon family.

But in another interesting twist, there are no actual bodies in the ground within the cemetery walls. The site was examined during preservation efforts and none were found. The story suggests that the cemetery as seen today was "assembled" based on historical records and fragments found at the site. Chances are that all those individuals are buried somewhere nearby. But just like with Christophe, the exact location(s) will probably forever remain a mystery.

Even though there are no bodies, there are five graves within the cemetery walls. But in yet another strange twist, only three of the graves pertain to the name duBignon.

The cemetery contains three large graves in a row that belong to the immediate family of Joseph duBignon, Christophe's grandson. The first grave on the left is that of Marie Felicite Riffault who was Joseph's mother-in-law.

The middle grave is that of Joseph duBignon, Christophe's grandson.

The grave on the far right is that of Anne Amelia duBignon, Joseph's mother. I can't help but feel bad for Joseph being buried in between his mother and mother-in-law. I can only imagine some of the conversations that take place in the afterlife !

The two smaller gravestones in the second row aren't for members of the duBignon family, but for two Jekyll Island Club employees who drowned in the Jekyll River on March 21, 1912. The left grave is that of Hector DeLiyannis, personal waiter to the J. P. Morgan family. DeLiyannis drowned while trying to rescue another Club waiter Charles Harvey, who also drowned and is buried in the right grave.

The grave on the right is that of Club waiter Charles Harvey, who also drowned on March 21, 1912.

A small picnic area has been laid out behind the duBignon Family burial ground. Even though a picnic area next to a cemetery may sound like a recipe for a horror movie, the sense of calm was overwhelming.

I liked the way a few of the trees have fallen over and continued to grow.

Sideways trees behind the duBignon Family burial ground.

The kid in me would love to start climbing. But the 52-year-old body would probably end up in the emergency room.

The view from the picnic area is pretty spectacular. The Lanier Bridge is visible in the distance to the west.

Zooming in on the Lanier Bridge.

Zooming in on the Lanier Bridge.

I spotted a group of locals gathered nearby.

Zooming in on a group of locals.

Turning to the east brings the Jekyll Island Pier into view.

Zooming in on the Jekyll Island Pier at the Clam Creek Picnic Area.

Next to the duBignon burial ground are the ruins of several structures thought to have been part of a network of warehouses.

Multiple storage structures are thought to have been built by both the Horton and duBignon families who both operated a plantation. Several tabby remains are present at the warehouse site.

The ruins present are believed to be part of a warehouse, well, and brewery.

I continued on the North Loop Trail and soon came upon a giant Live Oak tree that bridges over the trail.

Southern Live Oak trees are everywhere on the island and can grow to be quite large.

One of the branches of this particular tree has grown over the North Loop Trail making for a nice setting for a bench.

Branch from a Live Oak tree across the trail.

I came to another bridge that crosses one of the many small branches of the Brunswick River.

This bridge crosses over one of the numerous branches of the Brunswick River.

The photo above looks west toward Brunswick.

The Lanier Bridge can be seen off in the distance.

Since I'm heading south on the North Loop Trail, Riverview drive sits to my left, (some of the roadway can be seen in the photo above).

I continued south along the North Loop Trail and eventually reached the airport.

The Jekyll Island Airport is very small and serves private and charter planes. Several planes were tied down during my visit.

Just south of the airport, the North Loop Trail ends and becomes the Historic District Trail that continues south toward the Historic District.

A long wooden bridge has been built over a wide stretch of the marsh.

The Jekyll Island Club Marina and M. E. Thompson Bridge can be seen from this vantage point. The Thompson Bridge was built in 1996 and replaced an earlier drawbridge from 1954.

Looking west across the marsh and the Jekyll River.

Two-picture panorama looking west across the marsh and the Jekyll River.

I continued south toward the Historic District.

The reason for the trail's name change from "North Loop" to "Historic District" becomes clear just south of the airport when the trail intersects with the northern entrance to the Historic District. The name "Riverview Drive" is retained even though this stretch of concrete through the district is only open to pedestrians, bicycles, and horses. Motor vehicle traffic is diverted onto the Stable Road bypass before meeting up with Riverview Drive again near the Ben Fortson Parkway and the island's entrance.

One of my favorite sites on the island is the enormous Southern Live Oak tree that sits at the northern entrance to the Historic District. This giant may not be the oldest Live Oak on the island, (that honor goes to the 375-year-old tree that sits next to Crane Cottage named the "Plantation Oak"). It may not be the most famous Live Oak on the island, (that honor goes to the "Bicentennial Oaks," a group of 13 oak trees planted in the Bicentennial year of 1976 in honor of the original thirteen colonies). But this tree is, in my opinion, one of the most picturesque.

As the branches grow so long, they also become very heavy which causes them to rest on the ground thus giving the tree some extra stability.

Enormous Southern Live Oak tree at the northern end of the Historic District.