Ghosts of Another Century

I spent the last three days at an economic development conference and stayed at the Jekyll Island Inn. This century old historic hotel was once the Jekyll Island Club, a millionaire’s retreat on a private island. The club was started in 1888. Names like Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, Carnegie, Pulitzer, and Morgan fill the rolls of the 100 members who paid $600 each to join this ultra-exclusive club. But thanks to the Great Depression, World War II, a condemnation by the state of Georgia, and a conference rate, I stayed there for just $139 a night and didn't have to join anything.

There is something special about staying here. The Queen Anne architecture and turreted tower make the buildings distinctive. And you’re not apt to find a crocket court on the front lawn of a Motel 6, but that’s what greets you as you pull beneath the Spanish moss draped oaks lining the driveway of this one-of-a-kind destination.

Jekyll Island is one of Georgia’s twelve barrier islands, four of which you can drive to by car (St. Simons, Sea Island, and Tybee). But as the current head of the Jekyll Island Authority put it, this Island is different from the others. Since being purchased by the state of Georgia from the club’s remaining members for $675,000, Jekyll has been an accessible and largely undeveloped place.
The Jekyll Island Inn just oozes history. The club was a place of significance. The U.S. Federal Reserve was supposedly created during a meeting here in 1910. If you close your eyes and use just the slightest bit of imagination, you can see and hear the great industrialists, politicians, publishers, and financiers of a bygone century, strolling these grounds. And according to legend, some of them apparently remain. The main hotel and the Sans Souci building are reputed to be haunted. In fact, the San Souci building, which was built in 1897 as America’s first condominium, is said to be haunted by J.P. Morgan, the industrialist who created U.S. Steel.

I didn’t see any ghosts during my Jekyll Island stay—instead I had a chance to catch up with friends, some way-too-distant, and drink in the atmosphere of this great hotel. But I’ll be back, hopefully with my Nikon. Maybe I’ll reserve Mr. Morgan’s suite and together we’ll watch the sun rise over the river together.