Sea Island Golf Club on St. Simons Island maintains several remnants from Retreat Plantation: the tabby ruins of a slave hospital, tabby walls from a green house, a tabby corn barn converted into a golf course clubhouse, the brick ruins of the plantation house, and a slave cemetery. One remaining tabby slave cabin, located on Frederica Rd., has been restored and turned into a gift shop.
History
The first plantation on the southwestern portion of St. Simons Island was Orange Grove, constructed by Thomas Spalding in the 1790s. In 1804 Major William Page purchased it and created Retreat Plantation. After his death in 1827, it passed to his daughter Anna and her husband, Thomas Butler King. During the Civil War, the slave Neptune Small retrieved the body of his master, Henry Lord King, from the battlefield at Fredericksburg and brought him home for burial. To reward his loyalty, the King family gave Neptune a parcel of land after the war (now Neptune Park by the ocean pier) and after his death erected a tombstone in his honor in the Retreat Plantation cemetery. Developer Howard Coffin bought Retreat Plantation in the 1920s and converted it to a golf club.
Location
GPS: N 31°08.405, W 81°24.418 (ruins at Sea Island Golf Club)
Address: 100 Retreat Ave., St. Simons Island GA 31522. Just a short walk from the golf course parking lot, the ruins are situated between Plantation Golf Course and the driving range.
Accessibility: Only guests of Sea Island are allowed on the property.
GPS: N 31°09.533, W 81°23.325 (Tabby House Gift Shop)
Address: 1550 Frederica Rd., St. Simons Island GA 31522 (at the Demere Rd. traffic circle)