Hamilton Plantation

Hamilton Plantation was built on the land known as Gascoigne Bluff, and today is where the causeway comes onto the island, including the land of large trees of the county park and the grounds of Epworth-by-the Sea. The first owner of this tract of land was Captain James Gascoigne, commander of the sloop-o-war, Hawk, which convoyed the settlers to Frederica in 1736. As the Captain was in charge of the ships stationed in the area for the defense of the colony, so it was in these waters that the vessels were anchored and kept in repair. So this point might be called Georgia's first naval base. The captain's home soon became known as Gascoigne's Bluff. His plantation here was destroyed by the Spaniards when they invaded St. Simons in 1742. Not long after this, the Captain returned to England to live.

Cotton was cultivated here on this land by Major Alexander Bissett and by Richard Leake during the seventeen-eighties. This was one of the earliest plantings of Sea Island cotton in the United States. Here also, live oak timbers were cut and shipped north to be used in construction of the first ships of the American navy, including the Constitution, known as "Old Ironsides".

In 1793 James Hamilton, with his friend John Couper came to St. Simons Island. Both had come from Scotland, and after being in business together in South Carolina for a few years, purchased land in Georgia. James Hamilton named his land Hamilton Plantation; John Couper continued to call his Cannon's Point, after the first owner in Oglethorpe's day.

Soon this plantation of James Hamilton became one of the richest on the island. The fertile land produced crops of quality cotton which brought premium prices in the London market. The wharf here was the shipping point for the entire south end of the island. He built a two story frame house fronting on the river. It had sturdy colonial lines on high latticed foundations and a wide piazza. Spacious gardens and broad lawns surrounded the plantation house. The fertile land and high cotton prices were so very productive of income that by 1820 Mr. Hamilton was one of the richest men in America. His business enterprises were far flung, and sometimes he traveled to far places of the world. He brought seeds of exotic plants to his friend John Couper who was very interested in horticulture. On one occasion Mr. Hamilton sent a cotton plant from Siam. It grew large, was of a rich purple color, both in foliage and in blossom, but perished without ripening its fruit.

In the early 1820's Mr. Hamilton decided to retire from his active plantation labors and move to Philadelphia. He sold most of his Georgia land except Hamilton Plantation, and built a fine home in Philadelphia, where he lived in great splendor. His plantation had made him one of the richest men in America and one of the country's first millionaires. Looking back, we can now see that he rather wisely liquidated his holdings at about the right time. Did he forsee that soon these great profits in cotton would be in decline? James Hamilton died in Philadelphia in 1829.

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