Our quest to take pictures of lighthouses took us out to Sapelo Island. We took a ferry over to the.island and when we got off the boat we were met by a guide who put us on a small tour bus. She was one of the few descendents left of the slaves 
that lived on the island many years ago. The island has been inhabited by Native Americans for over 4,000 years. It became a plantation in the 1800s and was subsequently owned by a succession of wealthy businessmen. The last one was tobacco magnate R. J. Reynolds, from 1933 to 1965.
Our tour included the Sapelo Island Lighthouse originally built in 1820, the Afro-American community of Hog Hammock and the Reynolds mansion.
The original mansion was tabby (shells, limestone and sand) by Thomas Spalding in 1810 as his permanent plantation home and used until 1861. It was vandalized during and after the civil war and then rebuilt in 1907. It was completely restored in 1922-25 by Howard Coffin. Richard J. Reynolds modernized the house during his ownership of Sapelo in 1934-64 and used it as a private retreat.
The house is now maintained by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and is used as a conference facility. The mansion has had many famous visitors including President & Mrs. Calvin Coolidge in 1928, President & Mrs. Herbert Hoover in 1932, and Charles Lindbergh in 1929.The island got electricity in 1967. When the slaves were freed many stayed on the island and purchased their own land. There are only 70 residents today living on the island. There cemetery is called Behavior. When the slaves were brought over to 
Georgia and South Carolina, many of them were so depressed from being taken from their home land and didn’t want to be a slave to anyone, that they would get off the ship and walk straight into the ocean and drown. Others would get off the ship and run into the woods. The plantation owner would say, “just leave them their until they can behave”. Many died in the woods and were buried in Behavior Cemetery. The headstones always pointed to the East. Some say it is because they point to Africa, the slaves homeland.
A book I purchased at the store in Hog Hammock explains that the headstones point to God in the East. The west is the devil.
Georgia and South Carolina, many of them were so depressed from being taken from their home land and didn’t want to be a slave to anyone, that they would get off the ship and walk straight into the ocean and drown. Others would get off the ship and run into the woods. The plantation owner would say, “just leave them their until they can behave”. Many died in the woods and were buried in Behavior Cemetery. The headstones always pointed to the East. Some say it is because they point to Africa, the slaves homeland.
A book I purchased at the store in Hog Hammock explains that the headstones point to God in the East. The west is the devil. 
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