St Marys, Georgia

Imagecurvyroads 19 Comments

I’m interrupting the infrequent posts flashing back to our 2018 adventures to share a current stop in far southeast Georgia.

We came to Crooked River State Park, on the St Marys River, a couple of days ago. We spent those days working on a coach issue (currently in workaround), and a tow car issue (part on the way), and today we went touring.

We started just down the road at an old Sugar Mill ruin built of tabby, a mixture of earth and oyster shells, that is almost 200 years old. It is beyond amazing that it is still standing!

Approaching from the parking area

Beautifully framed by moss-draped oaks

The light played around and through this huge structure…and I couldn’t resist.

Looking through the three huge rooms, from back to front

My love, in the last and largest room.

Closer…Note the arched doorway!

Columns possibly supporting an upper porch?

Closeup of the tabby, and ferns growing on the old structure

Another porch on the opposite side?

Nature’s art

It was simply magical. Next we headed to historic downtown St Marys. The St Marys River is the state line, albeit wiggly, between Georgia and Florida. This town has been inhabited since the 1500s, and was incorporated in the late 1700s, so there is an abundance of history to absorb here. We enjoyed an outdoor History walk, with plaques describing the towns various war impacts, its shipbuilding, logging, fishing, and canning history, and important residents. There are also Submarine and Cumberland Island National Seashore Museums to explore, but we weren’t in the mood for indoor activities this beautiful day. In addition, the government shutdown precluded visiting any Cumberland Island areas, since it is a National Seashore. Sad.

I also wasn’t drawn to capture historical buildings, but instead, the marsh and river views.

Panorama looking east over the St Marys River from the pier at the western edge of town

Panorama looking west over the St Marys River from the same pier

Looking southeast to Fernandina Beach in Florida

Looking east from the downtown pier

Looking at the Memorial Park in Downtown St Marys from the pier

It was a lovely day on the water, capped off with oysters and beers with a marsh view!

19 thoughts on “St Marys, Georgia”

  5. Pretty interesting ruins and the mesh and water views are fantastic. The tabby building material is interesting. I thought that it wouldn’t support much. I also like the hanging moss though that suggests high humidity to me…

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    • Thanks Richard, it is a beautiful place! We were amazed how strong the tabby must be to survive coastal storms, etc, for almost 200 years! And yes, a very humid area, but it’s lovely in the winter.

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  6. Great post. You do such a good job with your descriptions and always share pretty pics, but these are some of your best yet. I especially love #5 and #10. “Nature’s Art” made me smile, too. It’s exactly the sort of scene I might have tried to capture. 😊

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