May 8, 2019 There was surprising purpose in our group as we walked off the ferry dock and onto Sapelo Island. By law you can't just wander onto the island; to come to Sapelo you must have an accepted reason ... you have to be invited by a resident of Hog Hammock, or have official business, or -- like Bobbie and myself -- be part of an established tour.
A culture with its own language persisted among slave descendents who continued to live on barrier islands along the southeastern seaboard ... In South Carolina this culture came to be called
Gullah, and in Georgia it's called
Geechee. Hog Hammock on Sapelo Island is the last known Gullah Geechee community.
We were fortunate that our tour group was just the two of us and our guide, and through him we got a glimpse of life in the Hog Hammock community as well as of the complex history of the island.
A warning that due to time pressure on our tour, many of the photos you'll see were shot through our tour vehicle's charmingly-cracked windshield. I think of the results as part of the island's character, and hope you do also.
Start by clicking
here.
This essay has 25 photos, a couple of maps, and text; and will probably take around 10 minutes to view. It's possible to view the photo-essay on a phone, but the text and photos will work much better if you use a computer. All photos and maps are copyright Bill Parken.
