Spring Break Trip 2025 // Tybee Island, GA // Day Five: Visiting Wormsloe State Historic Site

 On Wednesday, Noel went down to watch the sunrise once again while the rest of us took our time waking up and getting around.  Then after we all ate breakfast, we decided to head back towards Savannah but this time, instead of heading into the city, we would visit a place called Wormsloe State Historic Site.  Here is a description that we found online:

A breathtaking avenue sheltered by live oaks and Spanish moss leads to the tabby ruins of Wormsloe, the colonial estate of Noble Jones (1702–1775). Jones was a carpenter who arrived in Georgia in 1733 with James Oglethorpe and the first group of settlers from England. Wormsloe's tabby ruin is the oldest standing structure in Savannah.

Surviving hunger, plague and warfare in the rugged environment of Georgia, Jones went on to serve the colony as a doctor, constable, Indian agent, Royal Councilor and surveyor, laying out the towns of Augusta and New Ebenezer. He also commanded a company of marines charged with defending the Georgia coast from the Spanish. Jones died at the beginning of the American Revolution, but his descendants sustained Wormsloe until the state of Georgia acquired most of the property in 1973.

Today, visitors can interact with historical interpreters during programs and events, and view a museum with artifacts unearthed at Wormsloe. The interpretive nature trail leads past the tabby ruins along the marsh to the Colonial Life Area where, during programs and special events, demonstrators in period dress exhibit the tools and skills of colonial Georgia. The site hosts several events throughout the year, including the “Colonial Faire and Muster” in February, which highlights aspects of 18th-century life, such as music, dancing, crafts and military drills and the “Tools and Skills that Built a Colony”.

The name “Wormsloe” came from Jones’ township in England: Wormslow (Wormelow) Hundred in Herefordshire. British residents of the town have even visited Wormsloe Historic Site.

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The main gate has now been closed to individual traffic and all visitors have to check in and buy tickets in a gift shop.  Then you can either make the 1.5 mile walk back to the colonial area on foot or you can take a tram.  We decided that we were not in any hurry so we could easily walk the path by foot.  That way, we could also spend time taking pictures or just admiring the scenery.

Here is the front gate.  As I said, it's now closed to the public and only opened to tour buses or the family that still lives on the estate.  Driving past on the main road and seeing all of the oak trees through the gate was a very impressive site.  I didn't know that it was coming far enough in advance to take any pictures from that side, but I can only imagine what it must have been like to enter those gates in a horse and buggy or simply riding on a horse like the colonial men would have done.

Victoria and Melayna wanted to dress alike on this day so they both wore "Jesus Loves You" t-shirts that they had bought specifically for this vacation.  The tram driver saw them as the tram passed by and he said, "Yes... he truly does!" and I think he repeated it the next time that he saw them.

These pictures simply do not do justice to the way that it looked in person.

Just an awesome scene, for sure!

Once we finished the walk down the long lane, we came back to another area where the tram stopped and then you could walk up to 7 additional miles of trails back to see the original "tabby ruins" and a few colonial houses where the servants lived.  There were employees dressed up as colonials and we saw them all gathered together for lunch, but apparently we weren't there at the right time to see them actually working and re-enacting in the village.

Part of the colonial settlement

the upstairs had room for one or two small beds...

...and the downstairs consisted of a table and a fireplace and maybe one or two shelves for storage.  The floors were dirt and there weren't any window coverings.

Originally we had planned to walk back to the colonial settlement and then take the tram back.  As we were waiting for the tram to arrive, a few other people around us found out that the tram had been delayed and we would have to wait there for another 15 minutes or so.  We talked about just walking back to the car as it wasn't that far, but Nolan still wanted to take the tram, so I stayed and waited for the tram with him and the three others began the walk back.  The tram did eventually pass them walking about 1/4 mile from the parking lot and Nolan and I only had to wait a few minutes before they met us at the car.

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We had to run by the pharmacy to get some medicine for Victoria so we drove a couple of miles back towards Savannah to find a Walgreens and then since we were on a different route back to our house, we stumbled upon a different Leopolds Ice Cream.  We decided to stop there and try it out.  As I mentioned in a previous post, although the ice cream was good, we still aren't sure what all of fuss is about.  The serving sizes were large but the price tag was even larger.  And I'm not convinced that it's the best ice cream that we've ever had.  LOL  Oh well.  At least we can say that we've tried it once.

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We also stopped by the grocery store to pick up a few things for dinner and then we spent the rest of the night just relaxing outside on the deck of the house.  I think that is also the night that the two girls walked back to the souvenir shops and found sweatshirts to buy as souvenirs.  I finished another book and I think we watched another rom-com before heading up to bed.