Cumberland Island, Georgia #4

On our second day on Cumberland Island we went south on the island to see the Dungeness ruins. This part of the island has a small museum and, as the name implies, ruins of times gone by. For example, a mansion owned by Thomas Carnegie and his wife Lucy in the late 1800s is located at the end of a long pathway lined with moss-filled arched trees. It was once a fabulous mansion with many acres of land.

Today, the mansion is unsafe and not open to the public for obvious reasons upon first glance, not to mention that diamond back rattlesnakes are said to live in the ruins! However, from what remains standing of the mansion and surrounding buildings and the property, you can tell that it was once a lovely place to live. A daughter of Thomas and Lucy Carnegie lived in one of the large houses nearby the mansion many years ago, and today the house is privately owned and is occupied.

In an area not far from the occupied house were about six rusted out cars from days gone by. They look to be from the 1920's - 1930's, but it's hard to tell. The cars look as though they were parked there, waiting for the next trip to wherever. It appears they never moved from that spot and rusted, literally, to the ground.

We left the ruins and walked the path leading to the beach. We walked the beach back to the path leading to the Sea Camp Ranger Station and rested on the porch in rocking chairs at the Ranger Station before getting in our dinghy and heading back to the boat for the evening.

This is the end of our Cumberland Island visit. Now, it's on to Savannah !! Stay tuned.