Sapelo Island is Georgia's fourth largest barrier island; it measures approximately 10 miles long and 4 miles wide (17, 950 acres). The year-round population of Sapelo Island was around 70 in 1998, consisting mainly of residents of Hog Hammock, an African-American community descended from former slaves. Sapelo Island was first used by Native Americans. The Spanish then inhabited parts of Sapelo, including the mission of San Jose de Zapala during the 16th and 17th centuries. After the English established the colony of Georgia in 1733, legal rights to Sapelo Island shifted between the British, the Creek Indians, and Mary Musgrove, an interpreter for the British. Musgrove relinquished her claims in 1760. In 1789, the island was purchased by five Frenchmen who created the Sapelo Company, a shared agricultural venture that was dissolved in 1793. Several large landowners dominated Sapelo's history for the next 150 years. Thomas Spalding (1774-1851) purchased the south end of Sapelo in 1802, creating a plantation based on timber, sugar cane, rice, and Sea Island cotton. From 1807-1810, Spalding constructed a main residence for the plantation, the "Big House." Following Spalding's death, his descendants and allied families held portions of the land during most of the nineteenth century. Many of Spalding's slaves and their descendants continued to live on Sapelo. Detroit entrepreneur and engineer Howard E. Coffin (1873-1937) was the next to own large portions of the island from 1912-ca.1933, rebuilding on the foundations of Spalding's "Big House," farming, and raising cattle with the help of his cousin, Alfred W. "Bill" Jones. Coffin sold his interests to tobacco mogul Richard J. "Dick" Reynolds, Jr. (ca. 1906-1964). Until his death in 1964, Reynolds continued many of the agricultural activities begun by Coffin and modernized the "Big House." He also consolidated the African-American settlements on Sapelo to Hog Hammock, an area of about 435 acres. In 1949, Reynolds established the Sapelo Island Research Foundation. The University of Georgia Marine Institute began on the South End in 1953, nurtured by Dr. Eugene P. Odum. The Institute supports research in various natural sciences including marsh ecology, geologic processes, and marine biology. In 1969, the State of Georgia purchased the North End from Reynold's widow, Annemarie Reynolds, to establish an 8,240 acre wildlife refuge to be administered by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR). In 1976, the state purchased 5,000 acres from the Sapelo Island Research Foundation to establish the Sapelo Island National Estuarine Sanctuary administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The only remaining private lands are Hog Hammock and isolated tracts near towards the north end of the island. Sapelo was opened for public day tours in 1977 and President James E. "Jimmy" Carter used the island for vacations during his 1977-1981 administration.
From the description of Lorene Townsend Howard collection on Sapelo Island (Ga.), 1823-1999. (Georgia Historical Society). WorldCat record id: 191674770
