Film Flashback: Cumberland Island

Continuing with my Film Flashback series, today I thought I would keep to the Halloween spirit and choose the Cumberland Island mansion. This island (located near St. Marys GA) was given to Revolutionary War hero General Nathanael Greene in 1785 as a repayment for his war contributions. He then began the construction of the four-story tabby Dungeness to serve as a hunting lodge. when Nathanael dies his wife Catherine was left to tend to the mansion, the pool house, and the untamed lands of the island. When she passed away years later, the mansion was deserted and eventually burned by robbers. As the 19th century faded, the 20th century rose as The Gilded Age, an explosion of wealth and excess. Pittsburgh’s Thomas (brother to steel magnate Andrew) and Lucy Carnegie decided on Cumberland Island as their winter home. Built in an even grander style than the original structure a century earlier, the 59-room, turreted Scottish castle, also called Dungeness, was completed with 40 additional buildings that included a staff of 200. Although Thomas died in 1886 and didn’t live to see its completion, Lucy and her nine children made Dungeness their permanent residence. When Lucy died in 1913 and, in 1959, a fire destroyed the deserted castle, some say by poachers hell-bent on destroying “this forbidden land” flourishing with game and modern conveniences. Seen from as far away as St. Marys, Dungeness burned for three days.

If you are interested in visiting this island, click HERE for more information.

Dungeness 1958

Pool House

Classic model cars left on the property