The Jekyll Island Cottage Colony

by June Hall McCash

During the Gilded Age, Jekyll Island, Georgia, was one of the most exclusive resort destinations in the United States. Owned by the most elite and inaccessible social club in America, a group whose members included Rockefellers, Pulitzers, Vanderbilts, Goulds, and Morgans, this quiet refuge in the Golden Isles was the perfect winter getaway for the wealthy new industrial class of the snowbound North.

In this delightful book, a companion volume to The Jekyll Island Southern Haven for America's Millionaires , June Hall McCash focuses on the social club's members and the "cottages" they built near the clubhouse between 1888 and 1928. Illustrated with hundreds of never-before-published photographs from private family collections, The Jekyll Island Cottage Colony tells the stories of each home, the owners' connections with the island, and their interactions with one another.

While quite grand by today's standards, these homes were relatively simple in design, built to enhance rather than subdue the island's wild beauty. The cottages of Jekyll's "Millionaire's Row" were not nearly as lavish as their Newport counterparts, but typified Victorian resort architecture from New England to Florida, ranging from Queen Anne to shingle to Spanish and Mediterranean styles.

After the Jekyll Island Club disbanded following World War II, the state of Georgia acquired the island to ensure its conservation. Once threatened by years of neglect and disrepair, the elegant clubhouse has been converted to a hotel, and many of the gracious cottages have been restored to their original condition. The Jekyll Island Cottage Colony is a fascinating guide to a unique treasure of architectural history, as well as a personal look at golden days gone by.

336 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 1998

Reviews

[Kymberly B]

The Jekyll Island Cottage Colony by June Hall McCash is a thoroughly researched and extremely well-written history with details of what the club symbolized, how industrialist businessmen like the Pulitzers, Vanderbilts, Goodyears, Rockefellers, Astors and Goulds became members and involved in the organization, each cottage’s history as well as the history of each family that owned the cottages in the broader Victorian American society of the day and how they intermingled at the Jekyll Island Club. The club sought to counter the High Life of Newport and Palm Beach as one of simplicity, tranquility and a natural paradise where the lifestyle, architecture and wardrobe was undemanding and unpretentious. It is a beautifully presented book with a plethora of historic photos and cottage house plan drawings. The book is organized into four time-referenced parts. from the early years to its final years with a chapter on each cottage that was built there even if it is no longer standing. It really sought to paint an accurate picture of the life of the families in their northern hometowns as well as their winter tenure on the island from January through April of which the author used many primary sources such as diaries, letters to and from club members, newspaper articles and club record books which makes the depth of writing and detail very enjoyable and informative. It was kindred to know that they were ordinary people in the sense that they went through favorable times as well as challenging times as all of us do no matter what our circumstances are in life even though they were extremely wealthy which many of us have difficulty imagining their similar life in that respect. The cottage colony existed from 1888 to 1947 when it was bought by the state of Georgia to make it into a state park by the Jekyll Island Authority in which the Jekyll Island Museum raises revenue to maintain and restore the cottages and grounds. Many of the cottages can be toured during a trolley ride through the historic district. This book would be a great read before going there to visit.