An Historical Tour

At Fort Frederica.

Last Tuesday was Dh's final day of a four day weekend, and we headed to the islands. Saint Simon's Island, to be exact. This place is full of history, reaching all the way back to the Colonial Era (we were the 13th colony, after all).

Fort Frederica was a vital part of that history. In several skirmishes, the soldiers of this fort were instrumental in holding off the Spanish encroachment and keeping the Carolina's (and the rest of the country/colonies) safe. B/c of their victories, America flourished.

The fort is in ruins now, on a couple of buildings/walls remain. There are plenty of excavated homesites, with signboards telling about who lived there and what they did. It's a fascinating place.

Ready? Here we go!

Here we are just outside the gates of the fort, at the Old Burial Ground. Not much is known about this area, as it was in ruins even in 1858. It sits just beside the Military Road, that ran between Fort Frederica and Fort Saint Simons (now the lighthouse area).

Here we are at the entrance to the Fort grounds. The gates are gone but you can see the lovely live oaks in this area. There is a moat (with water in parts of it) and earthen embankment remaining all around the Fort.

Next, we look down Broad Street (this is about 75% of the way down) to the Fort and the marsh/Frederica River. This street would have been lined with homes and businesses (sometimes in the same house). It was about 75' wide and would have been a nice thourofare to stroll down. To either side of Broad Street were more alley's and streets with homes and businesses.

Here you can see the tabby that the Fort is made from. The marsh is to my back here. This was the munitions depot, so to speak. It has two barrel vaulted rooms side by side, and you can see the door jamb noches in the tabby still.

Lastly, we wander over the (now) open field to the Barracks. You can see the outline of the building here in white shell. It would have housed the unmarried soldiers and could hold about 100 men. The marrieds would have lived in the town proper. 

There's lots of open field/meadow now, and gorgeous oaks that bow down to the ground. You can see across the marsh to the mainland and Brunswick, and the entire place just feels so secluded. It was a lovely day here, and we enjoyed ourselves so much.

I hope you did, too!