Wormsloe State Historic Site visitor pass

1736 Colonial Estate near Downtown Savannah . . .
VISITOR PASS

By the time James Oglethorpe and the first 114 English colonists arrived at Yamacraw Bluff in February 1733, Isle of Hope was apparently uninhabited by Indians. Among the colonists who came to Georgia with Oglethorpe was Noble Jones (1702-1775), a physician, carpenter, and surveyor. In 1736, Jones, John Fallowfield, and Henry Parker, started leasing five hundred acres each from the colony's Trustees on Isle of Hope, about eight miles south of Savannah near the road to Skidaway Island. Noble Jones named his estate "Wormslow," which is similar in spelling and pronunciation to several place-names back in Jones' English homeland.
Around 1737, Jones began construction of a fortified tabby house overlooking the major water route that ran past his property. The War of Jenkins' Ear interrupted construction of the house at least twice: in 1740 during a campaign against St. Augustine and in 1742 during an invasion by the Spanish fleet. By 1745, Jones had completed his fortified home, which was defensible against small arms should the Spanish attack. The 1 -story structure was built inside a rectangular wall with four bastions on each corner. Besides raising cattle, he planted corn, turnips, potatoes, rice, cotton, oranges, pomegranates, figs, peaches, apricots, and mulberry trees for silk. In 1756, Jones received a royal grant conveying ownership of the property. Today the tabby walls of his home are the oldest standing structures in the Savannah area.
Jones played a key role in the colony's development, both as a private citizen and a public

Form of a Pass

Capt. Jones' Co.

To all who bear witness, let it be known that the bearer of this pass is duly authorized to be absent from his company or

figure. He commanded Georgia's Northern Company of Marines, which patrolled the coastal waters south of Savannah in two scout boats, the Savannah and the Skidaway, which were based at Wormsloe, Pigeon Island, and Skidaway Island. He also served as a tithingman, constable, surveyor, soldier, and Indian agent. He held the posts of treasurer and assistant to the president of the colony (1760-1775), Royal Councilor (1754-56 and 1759-75), and Justice of the Province. Jones died in 1775, leaving Wormsloe to his daughter, Mary Jones Bulloch. Wormsloe later passed to her brother, Noble Wimberly Jones (1723-1805), after her death in 1795.
While Jones had remained loyal to the Crown, his son was a patriot and leading Georgia statesman. Noble W. Jones was elected to the Commons House of Assembly in its first session in 1755, serving until it dissolved in 1775. He attended the First Provincial Congress in 1775 and was elected the same year to the Second Continental Congress and the Georgia House of Assembly. He also served on the revolutionary Council of Safety and was a friend and correspondent of many influential revolutionaries, including Benjamin Franklin.
On May 19, 1775, Jones and other patriots stole a large quantity of gunpowder from the provincial powder magazine, which was later used against British forces in Boston. Prior to the British assault on Savannah in December 1778, which resulted in the burning of his home and the death of one of his sons, Jones fled the city but was captured in 1780 with the surrender of Charleston. He and three signers of the Declaration of Independence were imprisoned by the British at St. Augustine, Florida, for several months before a prisoner exchange was arranged.
Following the Revolution, Jones focused on his medical career, which began under his father's tutelage before the war, and he became a respected physician. Jones helped found the Georgia Medical Society in 1804 and served as the organization's first president.
Except for a brief stay at Wormsloe in 1796, Noble W. Jones rarely saw the estate during his ownership. After his death in 1805, the property saw little activity. When his son, George Jones, moved to Wormsloe, the deteriorating tabby house had long been abandoned. In 1828 he started construction of a two-story frame dwelling about a halfmile north of the original tabby house on Jones' Narrows. Since its construction, seven generations of George Jones'

troop while encamped upon campaign of war. Said bearer is further permitted to visit taverns, forage, and conduct trade

with friendly Indians. Given under my hand this ____________ day of _________________,

in the year of our LORD 1742.

James Oglethorpe

A_______S_______Y_______C_______F_______

THINGS TO KNOW . . .

7601 Skidaway Road Savannah, Georgia 31406 912.353.3023 GeorgiaStateParks.org/Wormsloe
Hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 9 a.m. 5 p.m.
Closed Monday (except holidays), Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day.
Admission: Please keep this brochure with your
party at all times as you tour the site. It serves as your proof of payment for admission.
Photography: There is no additional fee or
application for amateur, not-for-profit photography at Wormsloe so long as it does not affect our operation, conflict with site policies, or endanger natural or cultural resources.
Parking: Please park in the designated area. Do
not park along the oak avenue or under the live oaks as it can damage them over time.
Trails: Please use caution on all site trails. Do
not seek shelter under trees during high winds or thunderstorms. No bikes or vehicles are permitted on the trails at Wormsloe. Wormsloe is an active research site. Please stay on trails at all times.
Pets: Dogs must be kept on a leash (6 foot
maximum) at all times. No pets are allowed inside the visitor center, except for those that assist visitors with disabilities.
Wildlife: Wormsloe is home to numerous species
of plants and animals, all of which are protected by law. Please do not tease or disturb any wildlife you may encounter.
Artifacts: It is illegal to remove any item from a
state historic site. (OCGA 391-5-1-4). Also, metal detectors may not be used at Wormsloe.
Intoxicants: Not permitted at Wormsloe.
recycled paper printed 02/12 15M / $2845

descendants have made the house their primary residence up to the present day.
During the Civil War, Confederate earthworks were built overlooking the Back River (now known as Moon River) on the southern tip of Isle of Hope. Known as Battery Wymberley, these fortifications were occupied intermittently and saw little military action. Union troops arrived on Isle of Hope in December 1864 following the fall of Savannah and proceeded to vandalize the Jones residence. The federal government confiscated Wormsloe but the family regained the estate on August 29, 1865, several months after the end of the war.
George Frederick Tilghman Jones succeeded his father, George Jones, as master of Wormsloe in the late 1840s. Not only did he change his name to George Wymberley Jones De Renne, he also changed the spelling of "Wormslow" to the current "Wormsloe." After his death in 1880, his widow, Mary Nutall De Renne, looked after Wormsloe until around 1893, when her son, Wymberley Jones De Renne, moved into the house after a long residence in Europe. He soon planted more than four hundred live oaks that line Wormsloe's scenic oak alle. In the early twentieth century a dairy operation was established at the plantation, as well as Wormsloe Gardens, which became a popular tourist attraction as automobiles brought many travelers to the Georgia coast in the 1920s.
By the middle of the twentieth century, most of the old fields had been untilled for many years, and much of the plantation reverted to a longleaf pine forest, In 1972, Jones' descendants donated 822 acres on Isle of Hope and Long Island to the Nature Conservancy, which then sold the property to the state of Georgia a year later. About eighty acres of the original plantation, including the 1828 house and the De Renne library, are still owned by descendants of Noble Jones. Pigeon Island was returned to Wormsloe in 1998.

TOURING WORMSLOE

(map is not to scale)

1 FRONT GATE

JONES FAMILY PLANTATION HOUSE
(1828)
PRIVATE PROPERTY (No Trespassing)

WHITE GATE

BUS PARKING

CAR PARKING

7 BATTE(3RYmTi.R) AIL

A

PICNIC AREA

K A O

DAIRY SILO
MUSEUM

ISLE OF HOPE RIVER
SALT MARSH

E U N E V A

B
LIVING HISTORY CAMPS 1A - 3C

PINE TRAIL

2

300 YARDS

C
6
COLONIAL LIFE AREA BATTE(3RYmTi.R) AIL

TABBY RUINS JONES FORT / HOUSE
(circa 1737)

JONES FAMILY GRAVESITE
4
3

OBSERVATION DECK
5
JONES' NARROWS

SHELL MIDDEN

All trails at Wormsloe are walking trails.

Georgia Department of Natural Resources - 2012

WORMSLOW OR WORMSLOE?
The question is often asked about the two spellings. Noble Jones originally spelled his plantation "Wormslow," but it was spelled both ways in early documents. In the mid-1800s, his great-grandson, G. W. J. De Renne, settled on "Wormsloe" as the standard spelling.

1 Live Oak Avenue & Entrance Gate The picturesque roadway leading through the property is lined with more than four hundred live oak trees planted by Wymberley Jones De Renne in the early 1890s to commemorate the birth of his son, Wymberley Wormsloe De Renne. The earliest reference to the road dates to 1816, although it was probably in use by the mid-1700s. The grand masonry archway at the entrance to Wormsloe was also erected by De Renne to commemorate his son's coming of age. Two dates are engraved on the arch: 1733 represents the year Noble Jones arrived in Savannah; 1913 marks the year the arch was erected.
Superintendent's Cottage
Located just inside the archway on the right is the Superintendent's Cottage, built in 1917. Many families lived in this cottage during its use. Some would oversee the maintenance of the estate while others worked at the dairy. The cottage was occupied until the 1990s. Except for an added room, the Cottage was restored to its original appearance in 1997.
1828 Plantation House & Dairy Site
(Private)
Situated on the left approximately a mile from the entrance lies the 1828 family residence and several outbuildings. This area is occupied by descendents of Noble Jones and is not open to the public. Beyond the abandoned silo marks the location of a

dairy complex that began operation around 1910. This endeavor, which lasted approximately thirty years, was the last major agricultural use of Wormsloe Plantation. Next to the silo are the remains of a cistern and the foundation of the dairy barn.
2 Claiming the Land Upon their arrival in Georgia, the colonists confronted a dense forest that required clearing before homes could be built or crops grown. Wormsloe was no exception, and Noble Jones cleared only fourteen acres by 1745. The soil proved far less fertile than expected and farming was difficult. By the mid-1800s nearly the entire estate was farmland, but these fields had reverted to forest by the mid-twentieth century. In the early 1970s, the southern pine beetle epidemic swept through Wormsloe, destroying the massive longleaf pines that once dominated these woods. Few trees in the forest today are more than thirty-five years old.
3 Wormsloe's Tabby Ruins Noble Jones' fortified tabby house was surrounded by eightfoot high walls to protect the family from attack by the Spanish and their Indian allies during the War of Jenkins' Ear (17391748). Bastions were laid out on each corner to allow a flanking musket fire from gunports that covered all approaches. A well, located adjacent to the west wall, may have been built as early as 1737. The cellar lies separately in the northeast bastion while the remains of the double-hearth brick chimney lie along the western wall of the house.
Construction of the house took almost six years and required mixing more than 8,000 bushels

each of lime, sand, oyster shells, and water to make tabby. Large shell middens left behind by Native Americans nearby were mined for oyster shells, some of which were heated in kilns to produce lime-rich ash. Once the four ingredients were mixed, the wet tabby was poured into wooden molds to solidify for several days. After setting, the molds were removed and reassembled on top of the hardened tabby before another layer was poured. The 1-story home was twice the required size of contemporary Savannah houses and contained five rooms, making it an imposing dwelling for its time and location.

4 The Gravesite

A stone

monument and

iron fence mark

the original

family burial site

at Wormsloe.

Jones was buried

here in 1775

next to his wife,

Sarah, and later,

their youngest son, Inigo. Jones' remains

were moved from the site to Colonial

Cemetery in downtown Savannah. Later,

Jones' great-grandson, G. W. J. De Renne,

had his ancestors' remains moved again to

Bonaventure Cemetery near Thunderbolt,

Georgia. In 1875, De Renne placed a stone

monument at the Wormsloe gravesite.

5 Observation Deck over Jones' Narrows Wormsloe overlooks a strategic water channel known as Jones' Narrows, which was the main waterway for ships passing through the area in the 1700s. Jones and his company of marines patrolled the area in scout boats during the War of Jenkins' Ear (1739-1748). In the 1960s the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway was dredged due east of Wormsloe, making it the main watercourse for passing ships. After the construction of Diamond Causeway to the south of Wormsloe, the water passing through Jones' Narrows decreased dramatically and became clogged with silt, making it inaccessible for all but the smallest boats today.
6 Colonial Life Area & Living History Camps Simulating the small wattle and daub huts used as quarters for Jones' marines, indentured servants, and probably slaves, the Colonial Life Area is located a short distance away from the tabby ruins. The wattle and daub house has one room, a sleeping loft, and a chimney for cooking and heating. Other nearby structures include primitive covered shelters similar to what the early Georgia settlers would have used. Living History Camps A, B, and C are used during special events.
7 Battery Trail & Secondary Trails The 2.5 mile Battery Trail (marked Orange) loops past Battery Wymberley, a large Confederate earthwork on the southern tip of Isle of Hope. Four short secondary trails (marked Yellow, Blue, Red, and White) start from and return to the Battery Trail. Detailed trail maps are available at the Visitor Center. Please stay on trails at all times.

Bibliography
Bragg, William Harris. De Renne: Three Generations of a Georgia Family. University of Georgia Press, Athens, Georgia, 1999.
Coulter, E. M. Wormsloe: Two Centuries of Georgia Family. University of Georgia Press, Athens, Georgia, 1955.
Davis, Harold E. The Fledgling Province: Social and Cultural Life in Colonial Georgia, 1733-1776. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1976.
"The Jones Family Papers, 1760-1810," Georgia Historical Society Collections, Volume XVII, 1976.
Kelso, William. Captain Jones' Wormslow. University of Georgia Press, Athens, Georgia, 1979.