Thoughts from Jekyll Island: Porches

There is a lot of history surrounding the buildings of Jekyll Island. Kind of like the numerous porches.

Sheltering the island’s visitors in cool comfort and surely inspiring them with excellent views, the porches surrounding the club and cottages invite contemplation.

What conversations must have been voiced in these corners? What contentment may have been birthed in their peaceful shade?

In realizing the influence of the minds who were stilled on these verandas, one can only wonder if a gentle breeze, a glimpse of a passing heron, the wafting honeysuckle, an untangling of Spanish moss, the shimmer of gold from the endless marshes, or simply the unexpected quiet they afforded may have changed history.

The Club:

Across the south lawn from the club are two gorgeous cottages. Sans Souci, “without care” the cottage owned in part by J.P. Morgan, caught my attention every time we passed it, it’s deep green shingles contrasted the white trim so beautifully and it somehow remained a cottage in my mind despite it’s great size. It was stately and large, and difficult to photograph for the tall trees centering the lawn. I had to focus on the small parts…the porches…instead of trying to take in the whole.

More directly facing the club house was the cottage purchased by the Rockefellers called Indian Mound. It had a very homelike feel, covered in gray shingles and trimmed in a peachy yellow, I thought the colors odd up close, but very inviting from a distance.

Though not the sum total of porches on Jekyll, I only have one more cottage to share. This is Crane Cottage. It is where our room was located and we grew to appreciate it’s comforts and details more each day that we were there.

This link to the Jekyll Island Club has some history and information on these cottages if you are interested.