Assembling an Archive
Initiated by the Board of the Jekyll Island Foundation, the Descendants Project is designed to reach out to the descendants of the members of the Jekyll Island Club to begin the first organized and sanctioned effort by the Foundation and Jekyll Island Museum to assemble an archive of information to form the basis of a “Jekyll Island Club Collection” to be housed on the Island under the auspices of the Jekyll Island Museum. 

Background
Jekyll Island has a long and significant history. The island has a documented cultural history spanning 300 years and activities associated with the initial English colonization, the antebellum south, the Civil War, and the re-invention of American capitalism at the turn of the last century through the fifty year history of The Jekyll Island Club.

The Club, established in 1886, provided an exclusive retreat in the state of Georgia for the most elite members of the financial and technological communities that were beginning to reshape America and, indeed, the world. The legacy of the Club, whose membership included such notable names as Rockefeller, Morgan, Crane, Gould, Vanderbilt, Baker, Pulitzer, and many others of equal importance, will be the focus of this specific project. Through the auspices of the Jekyll Island Foundation, which includes among its board of directors two descendants of members of the Jekyll Island Club, the Project plans to contact the descendents of former club members to seek documents, photographs, and artifacts (copies or originals) to enhance the understanding of the club’s history and to expand our collection.

The Jekyll Island Museum already has an existing archive that contains thousands of photographs, documents, and artifacts. Significant research has been done on the Club’s history and its members by another member of the Jekyll Island Foundation board which has resulted in two published volumes on the subject. Work continues through the Museum to catalogue, process, curate, and display these objects for the public and to provide them for use in specific research projects.

The Project
The Jekyll Island Authority and Foundation have made great strides in the last twenty years to stabilize the Jekyll Island Historic District, renovate the most significant buildings on the island and expand educational offerings to the citizens of Georgia and elsewhere through various programs, including the Jekyll Island Museum. The Jekyll Island Historic District is today a popular and successful destination for visitors interested in the history of one of Georgia’s premier coastal islands.

In the preservation of Jekyll Island, the Authority and Foundation have been guided by a deep commitment to historical accuracy and scholarship, in both the renovation of the properties and their presentation to the public. The Foundation believes that Jekyll Island’s continued significance as an historic site will be ensured and enhanced by expanded efforts to enlarge the academic study of the entire Jekyll Island experience.

To this end, the Foundation believes that an important next step is to focus on expanding and improving upon its already significant holdings of archival material. The Foundation Board believes that the true mission of the Historic District as a place of education, research and study will be greatly supported by this effort.

The Board has decided to launch a new project, called “The Descendants Project,” that will represent the first active and systematic effort by the Jekyll Island Foundation to assemble archival materials related to the Island and Club. At its first stage, the Project will focus on a program of reaching out to the extensive network of descendants of the prominent families who were once members of the Jekyll Island Club to seek archival material. These families are of significance to a history of the period and their involvement in, time spent at and commitment to Jekyll Island is a subject open to further historical inquiry.

The Foundation’s Descendants Project will be led by three of its Board Members: Alexander Platt and Landon Thorne III, both descendants of Jekyll Island Club members, and June McCash, a historian who has written extensively about Jekyll Island. The objective of the Project is to seek the contribution of archival materials relating to the Island and Club and to add to the already thousands of documents currently held by the Foundation at the Jekyll Island Historic District. It is hoped that this effort will result in the creation of a repository that is recognized as a center for students, scholars and others interested in the study of Jekyll Island and its relationship to the outside world.

The Project
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