The Most Controversial State Park

The Most Controversial State Park offers a unique study of Jekyll Island State Park from the 1940s to the present. Relying on more than sixty oral histories, governors’ records, and a variety of archival materials, C. Brenden Martin illuminates the compelling stories of how Jekyll evolved from one of the most prestigious private clubs in the world to a state park that was originally intended to be a beach park “for the plain people of Georgia.” The richly illustrated study illuminates numerous issues the state-owned island has faced during its seventy-five-year history, including the political upheaval of the Three Governors Controversy, the State’s acquisition of the island, the use of convict labor on the island for nearly fifteen years, governors’ attempts to sell the island, the political corruption concerning leases and lots on the island, the separate-but-unequal access for African Americans in the late Jim Crow era, and the push for Black equality in the 1960s. Beyond the 1960s, numerous activists and organizations have fought to conserve the natural beauty of the island, along with two generations of historic preservationists who have advocated the saving of Jekyll’s Historic District.