![]() It was amazing to see the luxury and amount of money and detail that went into this winter home for the Carnegie son, on an island no less.Īfter the tour, we headed back to the boat to get Sophie and went back to shore on the south end of the island to walk and explore. The home had full electricity (powered by generator), an indoor squash court, indoor pool, refrigeration system and even steam powered heated towel racks. The 22,000 square foot mansion had all the luxuries one would expect today, however, this was in the late 1800’s on a remote island. The Plum Orchard mansion was built in 1898 by Lucy Carnegie for her son George and his new wife. We left Sophie on Blue Turtle since we planned to make the 11:00am tour of the Plum Orchard Mansion. The next morning, Randy and I took the dinghy 7 miles north to the Plum Orchard docks. Randy spent his evenings looking for wildlife, like turkeys Front facade of Dungeness Rear view of Dungeness Taking a break on the porch of the “kitchen” Encounter with the “dog-like deer” The Garden House Mid-island – Plum Orchard Mansion It truly was a gorgeous day and an amazing place to spend it. Several times throughout the day, we would sit at a picnic table for a break and just watch the horses. We were later told that the ferry guide mentioned the deer on the trip over and that it had become “too friendly” and may need to be removed. ![]() It walked right up to me and other visitors. We had an encounter with a small deer that acted more like a dog. Horses were everywhere, including a few young colts. We ended up spending about 4 hours or so exploring the Dungeness mansion ruins and surrounding areas. We walked through huge canopies of moss-covered oaks while watching the wild horses graze. Stafford Plantation – privately owned by members of the Carnegie family.Īs we arrived at the Cumberland anchorage near the south end of the Island, I could visibly see wild horses and couldn’t wait to get to shore! We dinghied to the Sea Camp Ranger Station public dock with Sophie (dogs are allowed on the island) and took the scenic River Trail further south to the Dungeness Ruins.Plum Orchard – donated to the National Park Service, which maintains it and gives daily tours.Greyfield – built in 1900, now a private inn owned by the Carnegie family.Lucy Carnegie had additional estates built on Cumberland for her children. The ruins of the mansion still remain to view and wild horses graze the lands around them. The house was destroyed by fire in 1959, alleged to arson. The 59-room castle, called Dungeness, included pools, a golf course, and 40 smaller buildings to house the 200 servants who worked at the mansion. In the early 1800’s, Thomas and Lucy Carnegie began building one of several mansions that belonged to the Carnegie family. Early natives, explorers, slaves, and wealthy industrialists once walked here. ![]() Managed by the National Park Service, you can only get to the remote island by ferry or private boat. The wildlife is abundant: feral horses, wild turkeys and pigs, armadillos, deer, loggerhead turtles and sea birds. The island is 17.5 miles of saltwater marshes, mud flats, maritime forests and beaches. Marys About Cumberland IslandĬumberland Island is the largest and southernmost barrier island in Georgia. Cruising past Fort Clinch on the north end of Amelia Island A couple of Cumberland Island ferries docked at St. I iced it and rested it the whole next day and by the time we arrived at Cumberland Island, I was able to walk ok again. I was very bummed since I knew this would put a damper on us exploring all the trails on Cumberland Island. While taking video in the park, I managed to twist my ankle pretty badly so we headed back to the boat so I could put some ice on it. We explored the wonderful waterfront park and some of the streets. We took the dinghy to shore with Sophie to check out the little town. It was a Sunday and we learned that most businesses and even some restaurants are closed on Sundays. Once we left Fernandina Beach, we motored 9.5 miles to St. ![]()
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