Darien, Georgia

 

“To Stand at the edge of the sea, to sense the ebb and flow of the tides, to feel the breath of a mist moving over a great salt marsh, to watch the flight of shore birds that have swept up and down the surf lines of the continents for untold thousands of years, to see the running of the old eels and the young shad to the sea, is to have knowledge of things that are as nearly eternal as any earthly life can be."

Rachel Carson

Darien is a small coastal town in south east Georgia just north of Brunswick, Georgia. This quaint town offers breathtaking views of the salt marshes that appear to go on forever and has been described by experts as “one of the most important tidal estuarine environments in the world”. The city of Darien is in McIntosh, Georgia and sits at the mouth of the Altamaha River and is located about 50 miles south of Savannah and about 80 miles to Jacksonville, Florida. This town boasts that it is the second oldest planned city in Georgia and was originally called New Inverness by the Scottish Highlanders who founded the town in 1736.

We have been to Darien many times from our travels driving back and forth to Amelia Island. This was always our destination on the way home to stop and have a great seafood meal at Skippers Fish Camp. This time we chose to stay for the weekend, right in town so we could explore this town. We brought our bikes and found it was a great way to get around the city and explore. We were looking for a quiet place to get away for our anniversary weekend, and when we picked Darien, we chose correctly.

We were lucky to be able to find and rent a lovely cottage through Airbnb that was right on Cathead Creek. This cottage had a dock with lovely views. This was the perfect place for us as we wanted to do some fishing and crabbing between checking out the town. We enjoyed amazing sunsets from this property as well as enjoying the tide changes and Fred, the alligator doing his daily routine. The owners were amazing people that we loved right away and will remain our friends forever.

We were blessed when we met Serena and Dwight Hall while here in Darien. They were both lovely people who we loved within minutes of our first meeting. Serena is a local artist who paints and designs moving women. Her artwork is unique in that she paints beautiful women and makes the designs 3-D by using lovely fabrics to make there dresses, as well as adding shells and beads. She is a lovely lady and talented artist who sells her work locally. I fell in love with one picture and now have Serena, named in her honor, displayed in our home. Dwight is originally from Darien and taught us much about the area. We learned he is an amazing architect and interestingly enough, served on the Swedesboro/Paulsboro line in New Jersey, which was Joe’s hometown.

Our weekend began with a lovely meal at Skippers Fish Camp, located at 85 Screven Street. This place has wonderful fresh seafood and offers great views of the Darien River. We ate at the oyster bar restaurant which is casual dining at its best. It was a treat to see the shrimping boats coming and going while we enjoyed our meal. We had a delicious lunch there before checking into our cottage.

Once we got settled in, we took a nice ride around town. This town is beautifully set up with square blocks and parks similar to Savannah. James Edward Oglethorpe’s plans was used here as well as Savannah on how to lay out the town. You can see that around Vernon Square – Columbus Square Historic District is located on the east side of Darien. This is a gorgeous area with many historic buildings in the area that date back to the mid 19th and 20th century. This is a middle class area for both blacks and whites. This square was once used as the social and religious center of the town. There is a pretty fountain in the middle with benches and beautiful shade trees covered in Spanish Moss through out the park.

On one side of the square is the Saint Andrews Episcopalian Church which is located at 301 Green Street. The original church was built in 1844 at a location not far from where the church stands now. It was later burned down during the Civil War by Union Forces in 1863. Col. James Montgomery ordered Col. Robert Gould Shaw to burn the town. Col. Shaw did what he was ordered to do but had heartburn over what he had done. He sent a letter to his mom explaining his feelings. He died in battle not long after but his mom took his feelings to heart. The church was rebuilt in 1879 with the help of Col Shaw’s mom, Mrs. Sarah Shaw along with some of her friends who raised money to rebuild this church as a sign of restitution. They rebuilt is the church in the style many churches where built in rural England.

Just a side note about the burning of Darien in 1863. When the Union Forces came into town they were instructed to only get what was needed for camp but instead looted and most of the public buildings, churches, businesses, and private residences in a town that was not defended and had very little strategic importance. It is known as one of the most controversial events of the Civil War.

On another corner on the square is the Darien United Methodist Church located at 201 Franklin Street. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism came to Darien to preach to the Scots on January 2 and 3 in 1737. This church was first built in 1836 but was partially burned during the burning of Darien in 1863. It was actually set on fire twice but survived during that time and became the meeting spot for the towns people where they discussed the rebuilding Darien. Then in 1881, a hurricane came through the town and destroyed it. They replaced the church in 1883.

Another unique and beautiful church we saw on our ride was Saint Cyprian's Episcopal Church which is located at 401 Fort King Road. This church was very unique looking and after hearing the history made this one feel close to our hearts. Reverend James Wentworth Leigh came from England and would hold services for the former slaves in a small room at Major Pierce Butler’s Island in 1873. Parishioners asked if he would hold church services in Darien which he started in 1874. His wife, Frances Kemble Butler Leigh donated the land for the church and it was built from funds from England and the North. Father Leigh returned to England in 1877 after the church was consecrated in 1876. From 1892 – 1914, Reverend Ferdinand M. Mann, an African American Priest held services and helped establish a school of the same name to educated African American children in Darien. The building was built of tabby which is a mixture of burned oyster shells and other shells, water, ash made into concrete, and is believed to be one of the largest tabby structures in use in Georgia. A hurricane in 1896 and 1898 did much damage to the church but the congregation rebuilt the church and continued to have services.

Another interesting side note. Darien has a population of right around 2,000 people. There are 24 churches in town of only 21.16 square miles of land. There were many more churches I could have written about but these were the few that really stood out to me. Riding around that day, there were areas where there were three churches on the same block.

The Darien Riverfront Park and Docks is a peaceful place to sit, relax, and get great pictures of the shrimping boats. The views were lovely. The park has shaded picnic areas, gardens, a pavilion were concerts are preformed in good weather, and has many cabbage palms and live oaks. It is hard to believe at one time this was one of the busiest ports on the south east coast with ships coming and going to pick up yellow pine to take to Europe. They have a big event here every April where they do the Blessing of the Fleet.

The Old Jail Art Center is located at 404 North Way and was built by the McDonald Brothers Jail Building Company of Louisville, Kentucky and was known as the McIntosh County Jail in 1888. This building is one of the three oldest buildings in Darien. The prison was upstairs and the jailer and his family lived below. It is now a museum and art center that is important to the area. It is free to go in and see the art, and many of Darien’s artifacts, as well as the old jail cells.

Another interesting site to see while in Darien is the Tabby Walls and the Adam-Strain Building. The Tabby walls is what is left of the cotton exchange, warehouses, and naval stores that were built between 1815 – 1830. The Adam-Strain Building was built in 1813 and was a mercantile shop that also sold items needed for ships. This building is the oldest building in Darien and in major need of repair. It will hopefully be put in for a historic preservation since it has been put on the 2008 Places in Peril. This is located right near Skippers Fish Camp next to the Darien River.

Lastly, I will briefly mention Fort King George which is the oldest fort in Georgia and was built in 1721. The British wanted a fort built for strategic defense against the French and Spanish Forces at the delta of the Altamaha River. There is much to be learned about this site which I will cover in my next blog. It was a fascinating place to visit to learn about part of the history of the United States.

Our weekend in Darien uncovered a lot of interesting sites to see and wonderful people that we were lucky enough to meet. The sunsets were stunning and the colors more vibrant than I've ever seen.  There is nothing like sitting on a dock with a glass of wine and watching the sun go down over the horizon.  This is nature at it's best.  God's country.    We will miss you Fred.  Till we meet again.    We are definitely in love with the wonderful town and will be back. More to come.

Take care. Bye for now.