Skidaway Island Ga

Heritage museum to bridge Pin Point's past and future

A new foundation for the oyster house at the old A.S. Varn and Son seafood factory has been poured, an important step in the construction campaign to turn that once-crumbling landmark into the Pin Point Heritage Museum.

The building, constructed about 1929, had actually sunk some 27 inches into the marsh over the years, said John Moore of Pier & Beam, the lead contractor at the site just off the Diamond Causeway.

His crew took down the half of the house that's closest to the marsh, said Moore, put everything they could save and salvage aside, including the stark concrete countertops on which generations of Pin Point women shucked oysters, and will painstakingly reconstruct it.

Leah Michalak, the project manager for the Savannah architectural firm of Lominack, Kolman, Smith, said she'd documented what was inside the oyster house "down to the quarter inch," and that they would rebuilt it so that it would be an exact replica.

That's the sort of attention to detail Emily Owens is looking for. Owens is vice president of planning and design at Crow Holdings in Dallas, a firm that owns and directs the investments of the Trammell Crow family and its business partners, and she is the spokesperson for the Pin Point project.

Owens has said that an anonymous donor is funding the museum project, which began in late 2010. A recent New York Times article linked Harlan Crow, the son of the late Trammell Crow, to the restoration effort.

The article reported that Harlan Crow is financing the restoration because of his friendship with U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, a Pin Point native.

Read: “Friendship of Justice and Magnate Puts Focus on Ethics” – by Mike McIntire/New York Times

The resulting controversy over the article in the blogosphere has earned the ire of Barbara Fertig, an Armstrong Atlantic State University history professor, who has been studying Pin Point for the past 17 years.

Some of the blog posts derided the museum as an insignificant construction effort, but nothing could be further from the truth, said Fertig. Saving the old seafood factory, and the surrounding Pin Point neighborhood that dates back to the late 1890s, will preserve a cultural treasure, she said.

Pin Point's particular geographic location - Diamond Causeway, the busy conduit to Skidaway Island, was not constructed until the mid-1960s - helped it maintain a closeness that other surviving Gullah and Geechee communities don't have, said the professor.

Skidaway Island State Park, Savannah Georgia Camping Review ...

Last week we had a great opportunity to stay at Skidaway Island State Park, located in Savannah Georgia area. If you’re looking for a campground anywhere near Savannah Georgia or Tybee Island area this is definitely one to check out!

This park handles campground reservations a bit differently than most state parks, and reservations are definitely recommended, especially during weekends and holidays. When you make your reservation online, you do not get a specific site number but instead are told to just go and choose a site. This made us a bit nervous as to what types of sites would be available, but turns out there is not a single bad site in the whole campground!

Every site is beautifully shaded, so the hot sun won’t be a worry, especially if you have younger kids and are worried about sunburn. They even have tent pads available at many sites, which makes a great level surface for sleeping and of course helps minimize your chances of flooding if it should rain during your trip. Sites are well spaced apart and large enough that even luxury coach RVs could park in most of them without having any difficulty.

The park has a number of hiking trails and plenty of loops for taking walks around or letting the kids ride their bikes and scooters. All of the playground equipment was well cared for and while suited best for kids ages 4-10, I felt comfortable enough allowing my younger daughters play on it with supervision. Some campsites are even right next to the playground, which is great if your kids are old enough to play by themselves on the playground but you still want to be able to keep an eye on them while you rest and relax at your campsite.

The campground also had wireless internet connection available at the park office, and there were many people on their laptops there.

We did have mosquitoes, but that seems to be a part of camping – they were by no means all that bad but you definitely will want to pack some bug spray if you visit the park. There were a number of squirrels and birds at the park. They do have a swimming pool and interpretive center, however being that it was April when we visited it seemed the pool was not open yet.

Nearby you can visit the city of Savannah – though be warned parking at the visitors center is tight! Be sure you visit the historic district and walk around seeing all the sites and scenes, such as the place where Forest Gump was filmed.

There is no beach at Skidaway Island State Park, but nearby Tybee Island offers many public beaches to visit. Hilton Head Island, located in South Carolina, is only about an hour away north  and worth visiting if you have the extra time to see it. St. Simons Island and the Golden Isles of Georgia are also nearby though sadly we did not have a chance to check them out during our short visit there. Just about any store or convenience is available in the many nearby shopping plazas. There are many things to do and see in the area, such as museums and other activities.

The Rebellion record, a diary of American events

The Rebellion Record

The rebellion record: a diary of American events, with documents, narratives, illustrative incidents, poetry, etc, With an introductory address, on the causes of the struggle, and the great issues before the country by Edward Everett

THE REBELLION RECORD: A Diary of American Events, with DOCUMENTS, NARRATIVES, ILLUSTRATIVE INCIDENTS, POETRY ETC.

Highroad Guide to Georgia Coast & Okefenokee