Sea Island, Georgia

File:Mrs. James J. Goodrum, Southwind, residence on Sea Island, Georgia. LOC gsc.5a02938.jpg retired to this property, South Wind, on Sea Island in 1958]]

Like many of the easternmost barrier islands of Georgia, Sea Island was formed about 5,000 years ago, after the last major ice age.{{Cite web|url=http://georgiaseagrant.uga.edu/article/geology/|title=University Of Georgia|website=georgiaseagrant.uga.edu|access-date=2016-06-27}} Unlike the much older, Pleistocene-age islands just to its west, there is little information about early human activity on the island. Most of its recorded history dates from the beginning of the 20th century.

Its original English name was Fifth Creek Island. Its first known white settler was Captain James Mackay, who served under General Oglethorpe at Fort Frederica.{{Cite book|title=Longstreet Highroad Guide to the Georgia Coast & Okefenokee|last=Lenz|first=Richard|publisher=Longstreet Press, Inc|year=1999|isbn=1-56352-542-9|location=Marietta, GA|pages=252}} Subsequent holders included a series of St. Simons Island plantation owners, who used the land primarily for grazing.{{Cite web|url=http://seaislandlifemagazine.com/historys-gatekeeper/|title=History's Gatekeeper - Sea Island Life Magazine|date=2014-03-25|language=en-US|access-date=2016-06-27}} In 1926, automobile magnate Howard Coffin added it to his other land purchases in coastal Georgia. Two years later, on the advice of friends who foresaw the potential in oceanfront properties, he opened the Cloister Hotel that was nicknamed the "Little Friendly Hotel" and turned over its management to his cousin, Alfred W. Jones.{{Cite web|url=http://www.glynncounty.com/History_and_Lore/Ed_Green/later_resort_days.shtml|title=History of Saint Simons Island, Georgia, GA|website=www.glynncounty.com|access-date=2016-06-27}} Upon Howard Coffin's death in 1937, A. W. Jones inherited the property, along with other tracts of nearby coastal land owned by the Sea Island Company.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2009-12-30/how-sea-island-became-a-paradise-lost|title=How Sea Island Became a Paradise Lost|last=Reprints|first=Peter Waldman|website=Bloomberg.com|access-date=2016-06-27}}File:Portrait of Eugene O'Neill, at Sea Island Bend.png on Sea Island in May 1936.{{Credit|Carl Van Vechten}}|173x173px]]From its beginnings, the Cloister was a success, attracting a variety of "Roaring Twenties" luminaries.{{Cite web|url=http://www.georgiatrend.com/January-2008/High-Tide-At-Sea-Island/|title=High Tide At Sea Island - Georgia Trend|website=www.georgiatrend.com|date=January 2008|access-date=2016-06-27}} When President Calvin Coolidge decided to spend his Christmas holidays on Sea Island in 1928, the new hotel gained national attention. Promoted as a quiet, worry-free escape, as opposed to some of the high-energy resorts in Florida, the Cloister appealed to businessmen, politicians, and celebrities, including New York Mayor Jimmy Walker, Edsel Ford, John D. Rockefeller Jr., Eddie Rickenbacker, and many others. In addition to the hotel, Mr. Coffin also dreamed of creating a residential community on the island and encouraged his guests to consider building "cottages" nearby. To that end, he brought in electricity, water and telephone service, and improved causeway access to both St. Simons and Sea Islands. Among those building homes was Eugene O'Neill, who wrote the play Ah, Wilderness! while there.

Although growth slowed during the Great Depression, the still modest resort was able to make it through the financial crisis and World War II. In the postwar years, the Cloister and its surrounding community grew slowly, with the hotel welcoming a steady stream of distinguished guests, including U.S. presidents Hoover, Eisenhower, Ford and Carter.{{Cite web|url=http://www.sherpaguides.com/georgia/coast/southern_coast/sea_island.html|title=Sherpa Guides}} In 1949, Sarah Churchill married photographer Anthony Beauchamp on the island.{{Cite journal|date=October 18, 1949|title=Sarah Churchill Hurries Up Marriage to Photographer|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1499&dat=19491018&id=ZlMaAAAAIBAJ&pg=2743,4878877&hl=en|journal=The Milwaukee Journal|access-date=June 27, 2016}} Among the thousands of honeymooners to visit were George and Barbara Bush. The island's residential community also grew in numbers and in stature, with some lot prices pushing into the millions of dollars by the end of the 20th century.

In 2003, The Lodge was built on St. Simons Island with the help of Bill Jones. The Lodge became a hub for golfers and yet another accommodation under the Sea Island umbrella. By 2003, A. W. "Bill" Jones III decided it was time for a complete reconstruction of the Cloister. The historic original building lacked a proper foundation and did not meet modern building codes,{{Cite web|url=http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Features/CA_Golf_Detail/0,4475,70,00.html |title=Cigar Aficionado {{!}} Golf |date=2007-05-18 |access-date=2016-06-27 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070518213329/http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Features/CA_Golf_Detail/0,4475,70,00.html |archive-date=May 18, 2007 }} so it was completely demolished and replaced, over a three-year period, with a new, luxurious, much larger structure inspired by the original. Upgrades were also made to the resort's beach club and spa.{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703435104575421644204904412|title=A Glittering Coastal Resort Goes for Cheap Price|last=Wei|first=Carrick Mollenkamp And Lingling|date=2010-08-11|newspaper=Wall Street Journal|issn=0099-9660|access-date=2016-06-27}}

Just two years after its grand re-opening, the financial panic of 2008 and the subsequent Great Recession hit the Sea Island Company from several directions. Expected property sales in a new, upscale development did not occur. Resort visitation declined. New home purchases in the surrounding community stalled. Revenue from the Cloister dropped by 31% from 2007 to 2009. As a result, and despite winning 5-star travel guide awards the company defaulted on its loans which were later found to have been ill-advised from the start{{Cite web|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2009/08/03/newscolumn5.html|title=Sea Island Co. restructures loan with Synovus - Atlanta Business Chronicle|website=Atlanta Business Chronicle|access-date=2016-06-27}} and about 25% of its workforce was laid off.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/01/us/01island.html|title=An Unwelcome Guest Intrudes on a Worry-Free Zone for the Rich|last=Brown|first=Robbie|date=2008-09-30|newspaper=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=2016-06-27}} Although two major creditors, Synovus and Bank of America agreed to a restructured loan package in 2009, Sea Island Company was unable to sell off enough of its land holdings, and again defaulted in 2010. Later that year, the company filed Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, and was acquired by a consortium of investors who formed Sea Island Acquisitions, LLC, to manage the property and turn its business around.{{Cite web|url=http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100810007079/en/Sea-Island-Company-Reaches-Agreement-Sell-Substantially|title=Sea Island Company Reaches Agreement to Sell Substantially All Assets to Limited Partnership Formed by Investment Funds Managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. and Avenue Capital Group {{!}} Business Wire|website=www.businesswire.com|access-date=2016-06-27}}

{{cite web |url=http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/business/article29324686.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161026162832/http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/business/article29324686.html |archive-date=2016-10-26 |title=Report: Synovus settles Sea Island lawsuit for $11.8 million {{!}} Columbus Ledger-Enquirer}}

In April 2016, Sea Island Acquisitions completed a $40 million expansion that added a new "Garden Wing" to the Cloister with 63 rooms.{{Cite web|url=https://www.hotel-online.com/press_releases/release/the-cloister-at-sea-island-completes-expansion-debuts-63-new-garden-wing-ro|title=The Cloister at Sea Island Completes Expansion, Debuts 63 New Garden Wing Rooms and 5,000 Square-Foot Ballroom|website=Hotel Online|access-date=2016-06-27}} In June 2016, the Anschutz family of Denver, Colorado, headed by Philip Anschutz, bought out the other three investors to become the sole owner of Sea Island Company.{{Cite web|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2016/06/14/anschutz-family-takes-control-of-sea-island-co.html|title=Anschutz family takes control of Sea Island Co. - Atlanta Business Chronicle|access-date=2016-06-27}}

While visiting Sea Island in 1928, President Calvin Coolidge planted a live oak to commemorate the occasion. The planting became a tradition observed by a succession of distinguished guests including presidents and heads of state. In addition to President Coolidge, those who personally planted trees included Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, Queen Juliana of the Netherlands, President George H. W. Bush, Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair, and President Bill Clinton. During the G8 conference in 2004, President George W. Bush planted a tree.{{Cite web|url=http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/060504/dsd_15773602.shtml|title=The Trees of Sea Island {{!}} Jacksonville.com|last=BULL|first=ROGER|website=jacksonville.com|access-date=2016-06-27}}

Only one of the commemorative trees is not a live oak. In 1931, Howard Coffin planted an English oak acorn from General Oglethorpe's estate in England, to honor the founder of the Georgia colony.{{Cite web|url=http://www.tytyga.com/James-Oglethorpe-Dedicated-English-Oak-Tree-a/387.htm|title=James Oglethorpe Dedicated English Oak Tree|website=www.tytyga.com|access-date=2016-06-27}}

File:Junichiro Koizumi.jpg meets children at the airport, shortly before the 2004 G8 summit.]]

{{Main|30th G8 summit}}

From June 8–10, 2004, President George W. Bush chose to host a summit of the Group of Eight leaders at Sea Island. Present at the summit were Prime Minister Paul Martin of Canada, President Jacques Chirac of France, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder of Germany, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy, Prime Minister Junichirō Koizumi of Japan, President Vladimir Putin of Russia, and Prime Minister Tony Blair of the United Kingdom. Also in attendance were European Union Commission President Romano Prodi and several other invited heads of state.{{Cite web|url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/g8/2004/|title=Sea Island Summit 2004|website=The White House - President George W. Bush|access-date=June 27, 2016}}

Sea Island was selected for the summit in part because its relative isolation facilitated the extensive security arrangements necessary for such a gathering. As part of the security measures, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) designated the summit a National Special Security Event (NSSE).{{Cite web|url=https://www.firstwatch.net/portfolio/g8-summit/|title=G8 Summit - FirstWatch|language=en-US|access-date=2016-06-27}}

Access to the island was tightly controlled, and press headquarters (the International Media Center) was located in Savannah, Georgia, some {{convert|60|mi|km}} to the north. Protesters and demonstrations were marginalized, in part because the conference venue was located in a nearly inaccessible place.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/10/world/gathering-sea-island-scene-world-leaders-get-glimpse-america-s-high-life.html|title=GATHERING ON SEA ISLAND: THE SCENE; World Leaders Get a Glimpse of America's High Life|last1=Sanger|first1=David E.|date=2004-06-10|last2=Stevenson|first2=Richard W.|newspaper=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=2016-06-27}}

The leaders and other summit participants discussed issues faced by developing countries in Africa and elsewhere, ranging from peacekeeping operations, HIV/AIDS vaccine development, famine relief, debt reduction, and the eradication of polio.

File:Ocean Forest.jpg

A significant portion of Sea Island's culture and economy revolves around golf. In 1928, two years after Sea Island Company founder Howard Coffin purchased Retreat Plantation, the first nine-hole course was completed and fittingly named Plantation. The next year the second nine, Seaside, was established. In the near future golf legends such as Bobby Jones, Walter Hagen, and Sam Snead all ventured to Sea Island to play the courses. The first tournament played in the area was the Sea Island Ladies Open Invitational in 1954, which was won by World Golf Hall of Famer Louise Suggs. Over time, the third resort course, Retreat, and two non-resort affiliated courses, Frederica Golf Club and Ocean Forest Golf Club, were also founded on the island.{{cite web |title=Our Golf History |url=https://www.seaisland.com/golf/our-golf-history/ |website=Sea Island |date=March 10, 2017 |access-date=April 6, 2020}}

In 2001, the scope of golf in Sea Island expanded greatly and golf became the centerpiece that it is today in the area. The creation of the Lodge at Sea Island has allowed golfers to stay on the golf course property. Two premier amateur golf tournaments were played at Ocean Forest Golf Club. The Walker Cup, one of the most prestigious amateur events throughout the world, was held in August 2001 and even featured an opening ceremony headlined by President George H. W. Bush.{{cite web |title=Our Story |url=https://www.oceanforestgolfclub.com |website=Ocean Forest Golf Club |access-date=April 6, 2020}} The second tournament held at Ocean Forest was the inaugural Jones Cup Invitational, named after the club's founding family. Since then, the Jones Cup has been played every year at Ocean Forest, and in 2009 the Jones Cup Junior Invitational was created and held at the Seaside course. Both of these events attract golfers from across the country to compete in very exclusive tournaments at extremely challenging venues.{{cite web |title=History |url=http://www.jonescupinvitational.com/jones_cup_invitational_history.aspx |website=Jones Cup Invitational|date=November 17, 2020 }}

The following year, the largest tournament that is played in Sea Island was founded. The PGA Tour, with the help of host and Sea Island native Davis Love III, held the first ever McGladrey Classic (now the RSM Classic) on both the Plantation and Seaside courses. The Sea Island community has benefited greatly from this event, through increased exposure and the yearly contributions the Davis Love Foundation raises throughout the tournament week. This tournament has helped attract individuals to travel to or live in Sea Island, which has helped grow the economy in the area and led to the expansion of the resort.

Glynn County's public schools are operated by Glynn County School System.

Zoned schools include:

• Oglethorpe Point Elementary School (OPES)"[http://www.glynn.k12.ga.us/files/filesystem/2010-11%20Elementary%20Zones%20Map.pdf Elementary School Zones Map]." Glynn County School System. Retrieved on March 13, 2019.
• Glynn Middle School (GMS)"[http://www.glynn.k12.ga.us/files/filesystem/Middle%20Schools%20Zones%20Map%20(Revised%20January%202012).pdf Middle School Zones Map]." Glynn County School System. Retrieved on March 13, 2019. [http://www.glynn.k12.ga.us/files/filesystem/Glynn%20Middle%20School%20Zone%20Map%20(Revised%20January%202012).pdf Detail of Glynn MS Zone Map]
• Glynn Academy (GA)"[http://www.glynn.k12.ga.us/files/filesystem/2010-11%20High%20School%20Zones%20Map.pdf High School Zones Map]." Glynn County School System. Retrieved on March 13, 2019.

• List of G8 summit resorts

{{Portal bar|Georgia (U.S. state)|Islands}}

{{Reflist|2}}

• Porter, Darwin and Danforth Prince. (2007). [https://books.google.com/books?id=l_ltta136koC Frommer's The Carolinas & Georgia.] Hobokin, New Jersey: Frommers. {{ISBN|978-0-470-10050-9}}; [http://www.worldcat.org/wcpa/oclc/126837314 OCLC 126837314]

• [https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/g8/2004/ Sea Island Summit 2004]
• [http://www.goldenisles.com/ Golden Isles Visitors Bureau]
• [http://www.seaisland.com/ Sea Island Resorts]

{{Anschutz}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Walker Cup venues

Category:Islands of Glynn County, Georgia

Category:Georgia (U.S. state) Sea Islands

Category:Private islands of the United States