We took a day trip to Cumberland Island National Seashore yesterday.
Cumberland is located off the southernmost part of the Georgia coast, and can be reached by boat only. Two ferry trips a day are conducted from St. Mary’s. The roundtrip is $15, plus a $4 entry free in to the National Park.
One of the largest undeveloped barrier islands in the world, Cumberland is home to about 250 wild horses–brought to the island by the Spanish in the 1550s.
In preparation for this post, I clicked through several Google links, and found City of Dust to be a remarkable source for historical information. Most visitors know about the Carnegie family’s presence in the late 19th and early 20th century, as the Dungeness ruins are one of the island’s attractions. What I did not know was Charles Fraser’s role in acquiring 3000 acres of Cumberland Island property for development in the 1960s, an act that precipitated a battle with legendary environmental activist, David Brower of The Sierra Club.
Given that we know all too well what Fraser achieved 110 miles to the north, it’s a relief to know things didn’t go his way on Cumberland.
According to Wilderness Society, there’s still plenty of preservation work to be done on the island. When it comes to protecting our last great places from developers, it seems the work is never done.