Three Reasons to Visit Wormsloe on the Isle of Hope in Georgia

I visited Wormsloe to walk under the canopy of oak trees. In my opinion; that is the number one reason to visit the Wormsloe State Historic Site. The second reason is to visit their small museum and learn about the founding of Georgia at Savannah, and the third reason is to learn about one of Savannah’s original leaders–Noble Jones.

Some Confusion About Wormsloe

Wormsloe is worth visiting, but both my husband and I found it confusing. When we walked into the museum entrance, we saw a large poster of the original colony of Georgia. The ranger gave a wonderful impromptu talk about how colonists lived there, but we didn’t realize until I asked that the colony had been in Savannah, not Wormsloe.

Wormsloe itself is on the Isle of Hope, a peninsula eight miles south of Savannah. Noble Jones, who came over with Georgia founder James Oglethorpe in 1733, was tasked by him to protect the waterways from possible Spanish invasion. Oglethorpe also told Jones to build a fortified home from which to lead a garrison of marines (the Northern Company of Georgia Marines). Jones did so and named his 500-acre estate Wormsloe, after a similar place name in England.

And that’s what’s confusing about Wormsloe: is it the estate of Noble Jones, a museum about Savannah, or a museum about Noble Jones? The answer is, it’s all three. However, it’s important to note that even though this is the former plantation of Noble Jones, his original home is a tabby ruin, and the family home is closed to the public. It’s not even visible from the grounds. Jones’ descendents still live there and naturally want their privacy.

Walking Trails at Wormsloe State Historic Site

There are trails around the estate, but on the day we visited, the most important trail was closed off. This was the trail to Jones’ Narrows where the tabby ruins of Jones’ original house lay, as well as a view over the waters where marines used to patrol. Unfortunately, this trail is closed indefinitely, so we couldn’t get a full picture of Wormsloe’s history.

Colonial Living History Camp

Luckily, however, the trail to the colonial life area was open and we walked that. But again, it was confusing. Were these reconstructed homes of the 1730’s garrison of marines, or were they homes of Savannah colonists, or homes for indentured servants and slaves? The signage raised all those possibilities but didn’t point to anything definite for that particular area. And again, this is not where most of the colonists lived; they lived in Savannah.

I think the Wormsloe Historical Site could improve their messaging.

 

Now maybe the confusion was all on me and not the fault of the history site. You’ll have to visit and decide for yourself! I took a lot of photos and studied them afterward when I had more time to absorb and research the history. That’s when I really figured out what the Wormsloe Historic Site and Noble Jones was all about.

Who Was Noble Jones?

Noble Jones came over on the English ship Anne in 1733, under the leadership of James Oglethorpe (see my blog). He sounded like an amazing man. Not only did he serve as the new colony’s marine commander and take part in the War of Jenkins Ear (1739-1748), he also filled the roles of surveyor (he laid out the towns of New Ebenezer and Augusta), physician, treasurer, assistant to the colony president, Royal Councilor, Justice of the Province, constable, Indian agent, and carpenter–he built some of the first homes in Savannah.

He was also a poet! Here is a lovely poem he wrote to his wife, Sarah. Keep in mind, “the” is pronounced “thee” as in “you.”

God hath chosen a mate for me
I’ll honor his in loving the,
There Did I find the Did I choose,
The do I bind but Death must loose,

As I expect so let me find,
A faithful heart and constant mind,
God hath kept my heart for the,
Grant that our love may faithfull be,
Such pleasure I find choice I find,
That naught but Death shall chang my mind,
Wit wealth and beauty all do well
But constant love Do these excell,
The eye finds the heart chooseth,
The hands binds
But Death looseth

P.S. Wife, Keep this in Remembrance of Me,
when you look at it think of
Them that wrote it; & who perhaps—
May be many a mile off.

this is my name in full, Noble Jones,

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find an illustration of Noble Jones that was in the public domain. They don’t have one at the museum either (unless I missed it).

That is all I will write about Noble Jones and Wormsloe Plantation. He seemed like such an interesting man, there needs to be a book written about him! For more information, I highly recommend you watch this video about the original Noble Jones fortified home. They should run a film like this at the Wormsloe Museum, and they really need to re-open the trail to Jones Narrows and add some docents who can talk about what we are seeing.

Visit the Wormsloe Historic Site website for more information about events and visiting hours.