The first thing you need to do on Jekyll Island is go to the Jekyll Island Museum and get on a tram tour. The tour will give you the basic history of the Jekyll Island Club (or Millionaire’s Club). You also get to tour several of the cottages in the historic district.
The Jekyll Island Club was started as a very exclusive hunting club for northern bankers and industrialists such as J.P. Morgan, William Vanderbilt, Joseph Pulitzer by Newton Finney (on the staff of Robert E Lee) and his brother-in-law, John Eugene duBignon. The two men eventually bought up the entire island and then sold it to the newly incorporated club in February 1886. Club members bought shares in the club.
Groundbreaking for the clubhouse (see above) was in August 1886 and the first “guests” arrived for the winter season (January-March) of 1888. Members built cottages of varying degrees of expense and expanse. One of the simpler cottages was that of du Bignon. It was estimated that, together, members represented one quarter of the worlds wealth.
Membership in the club began to decline with the onset of the great depression. The club opened for the 1942 winter season but closed early because of financial trouble and a labor shortage caused by World War II. The club maintained the properties on the island until 1947 when the island was purchased from members by the state of Georgia. The state tried to operate it as a resort in 1971 but the venture failed to make a profit. It was declared a historic site in 1978.
Because of approaching storms, we decided to find a nearby campground for the night. Blythe Island is a very nice campground in a park outside of Brunswick. It’s close to Jekyll Island and other local attractions. Close enough for an overnight off I-95. The campground is somewhat isolated from day use areas. Friendly staff, clean, modern bathrooms. Wi-Fi available but not reliable. Cell service was OK but not great. TV reception was minimal (Jacksonville stations).