Jekyll Island…in 1904, the winter haven of the ultra rich. They arrived by private Pullman cars and gleaming yachts, to be transported by horsedrawn carriages to their luxurious cottages or the palatial Victorian clubhouse. The titans, who owned a sixth of the money that flowed through American banks at the turn of the century, gathered here…John Pierpoint Morgan, William Rockefeller, Vincent Astor, John Vanderbilt and Joseph Pulitzer. And here they drafted the Aldrich Plan which was to become the Federal Reserve System.

Today travelers of all incomes and ages enjoy this heirloom of the past. Although some journey here by air or by sea, most drive by automobile from I-95 onto a two-lane black top, passing under a canopy of sprawling oaks into the heart of the Jekyll Island Historic District and the world famous Jekyll Island Club.

During the great depression, the historic Jekyll Island Club fell on hard times, as most of its 100 members dropped out. In 1942, due to German submarine activity off the Georgia coast, the Feds evacuated the area and the island fell into disrepair. Sold to the state of Georgia in 1947, it was designated a state park for the enjoyment of all Georgians and the public at large.

It is a mecca for families, the antithesis of Disney World. Parents and children can be seen riding old-fashioned bicycles, swimming in the Olympic-size pool, playing tennis on one of the 15 clay courts at the Jekyll Island Tennis Center or golf (63 holes) on the island’s historic golf courses. (Robert Redford was so enamored that he used its historic golf clubs as a backdrop for The Legend of Bagger Vance.)

In 1995, the state agreed to limit high-rise condos, hotel properties, restaurant chains, and other tourist attractions, leaving two-thirds of the island undeveloped. Today it boasts a unique blend of ranch-style homes, the Jekyll Island Club Hotel and the only oceanfront convention center on the east coast.

In 1904, Jekyll Island was described by Muncey Magazine as “The richest, the most exclusive and most inaccessible club in the world.” Today it serves the famous and the proletariat alike who come to enjoy the charms of this former millionaires’ playground, a century in the making.

A Diverse History

The mystique surrounding Jekyll Island is not limited to its reputation as an opulent playground for the nation’s elite. As early as 2,500 B.C., Jekyll Island attracted small groups of hunter-gatherers seeking the island’s abundant natural resources and benevolent climate.

They were followed in 1540 A.D. by the Guale Indians, a tribe known for inhabiting a number of Georgia’s barrier islands. The European presence began in the late sixteenth century when the Spanish had contact with the native peoples, but it was the English who were the first to have a true settlement.

In 1733, James Oglethorpe, who established the English colony of Georgia, named the island in tribute to his friend, Sir Joseph Jekyl, an English politician. Slaves were imported to pick cotton, the primary agricultural product during this time. Although the U.S. government banned the importation of slaves in 1807, on November 29, 1858, the Wanderer unloaded 409 slaves on Jekyll Island, one of the last cargoes of slaves imported into the United States. Those involved were indicted by the federal government.

After the Civil War, Newton Finney, a captain who served briefly on Robert E. Lee’s staff, and his brother-in-law, John Eugene DuBignon, were the developers whose plan for a hunting club for wealthy northerners hatched into the most exclusive social club in the United States. Finney lived in New York City where he carefully built the membership and early foundations for the Club which began with 53 members/investors, including Marshall Field, Henry Hyde, J.P. Morgan, Joseph Pulitzer and William K. Vanderbilt.

Sold to the state of Georgia in 1947, it was designated a state park for the enjoyment of all Georgians and the public at large.

John Eugene Du Bignon first envisioned Jekyll Island as a winter retreat for the wealthy. His dream became a reality in January 1888, when the Jekyll Island Clubhouse was completed. Fifty-three industrialists purchased shares for $600 each, with a limit of 100 members to preserve the club’s exclusivity. The world’s wealthiest gathered every January to enjoy biking, hunting, horseback riding, and tennis until the United States entered WW II in 1942. The State of Georgia bought the island in 1947.

Planning of the Federal Reserve System — At the end of November 1910, Senator Nelson W. Aldrich, Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Treasury Department A. Piatt Andrew, and five of the country’s leading financiers arrived at the Jekyll Island Club to discuss monetary policy and the banking system, an event that led to the creation of the current, privately owned Federal Reserve. On November 5–6, 2010, Ben Bernanke stayed on Jekyll Island to commemorate the 100th anniversary of this original meeting.