St. Simons Island - Georgia

Christ Episcopal Church of Fredrica ca. 1808

Building began in 1808, though I did find a headstone in the church yard from 1803. During the Civil War, Union troops used the church partly for stables and nearly destroyed the church. Rebuilt with fabulous stained glass, some of it from Tiffany's.

During the Lent season

Stained Glass.....Orb to the right. Interesting

The Cemetery is spectacular! Peaceful, serene with centuries of moss, overgrowth and some decay eating away at wrought iron.

A sitting chair that is decaying with time.

During three hundred years a tree grew through the iron, had been chopped down and now is rotting along with the iron.

Survived the American Revolution, to drown off the coast of St. Simons Island.

The oldest found stone.

A Confederate Soldier who died in the Battle of Manassas

Fort Frederica

A scale model of what the town and fort would have looked like in the 1740's - 1780's

Fort Frederica was built in the 1730's to act as an buffer and to protect from the Spanish colony of St. Augustine, just downstream. The Spanish and English became enbroiled in the War of Jenkins Ear. The Battle of Bloody Marsh and Battle of Gully Hole Creek were fought not too far from this spot.

Relics excavated from the spot

After the War of Jenkins Ear, Fort Frederica became a bustling town with several hundred residents.

This is Broad Street - the main thoroughfare through the village. The village had candlemakers, doctors, meat markets, cordwainers and all the occupations needed to keep a village thriving. However, excavations showed that many of the homes endured severe fires in the 1780's. Cause is unknown. It is not known if the cause was due to an invasion, carelessness or any other reason. Shortly thereafter, the population of the village began to wane off.

Ecavations of the site produced these artifacts.

Home sites that were excavated.

The Tavern Keeper and the Doctor had a side by side house that had a shared fireplace.

The Candlemakers house.

What is left of the actualy Fort Frederica. Notice the British flag flying. The Fort and village thrived before 1780 when the area is still technically British. The Americans had not quite won Independence yet.

The Fort is in the background while the store house is in the fore ground.

Canons overlook the water.

The Olde Burial Ground

The sign mentions that Mr. Oglethorpe had passed through the area on multiple occasions as he headed to his plantation. The Wesley brothers, who began the Methodist religion and lived in the area, presided over several funeral services in this cemetery. No records exist of those folks who reside in the burial ground. Time has also taken its toll and little exists of the graves.

The military road used by soldiers to travel on between Fort Fredrica and Fort Simon. It was on this road, between the two forts (which are about six miles apart) that the Battle of Bloody Marsh occurred between the Spanish and English during the War of Jenkins Ear.