Our next destination would be a return visit for us. In 2018, we had a somewhat chaotic two night stay at Crooked River State Park in St. Mary’s, GA. Back in those days, visitors could reserve a campsite of a particular size but couldn’t reserve a specific site. Read about the aggravation we experienced settling into a campsite in this blog post!

But thankfully times change! Since then, Georgia transitioned to a site specific reservation system through Reserve America so things went much more smoothly this visit.  Site #47, a 60′ long, back in site with full hook ups would be our home for our three night stay.

Located on 500+ acres, this state park offers 11 cottages, 63 Tent, Trailer and RV sites, a bait and tackle shop, a boat ramp and dock, a nature center, a playground, four miles of trails, biking and lots of nature!

In need of some exercise, once we settled in, off we went to explore a few of the trails. Right next to our campsite was a Golf Cart Access Trail which brought us out to the road in front of the 11 cottages.

Across from the cottages was a sign for the Gopher Tortoise Nesting Site – Do Not Disturb. The sign provides information about the Gopher Tortoises:

This land-dwelling reptile lives in dry sandy areas, feeding for hours on grasses, herbs, leaves, and berries. With its powerful legs, it digs underground burrows, 10 to 35 feet long and 3 to 20 feet deep. More than 250 other animal species take shelter in tortoise burrows, too. Gopher tortoise populations have dwindled due to habitat loss.

From there, we walked along several of the trails which were pretty neat! Great views of the Crooked River, old growth hardwoods, the salt marshes, and of course, numerous birds! We even passed by a bat house with a resident bat inside!

Memories from our 2018 visit to this area provided us with the incentive to journey to the town of St. Mary’s, a town rich in history with a vibe of Southern charm. Hard to believe that this small town offers visitors so many things to do!

As usual the first order of business on our first morning was breakfast at Steffen’s Restaurant in nearby Kingsland. Eggs, bacon, home fries and toast for me ($8.25) and Country Fried Steak with Eggs ($10) for Rob. With our tummies full, we headed into town to do some exploring.

The town is located on the St. Mary’s River, often referred to as the black water river because of its color which comes from tannin leached from rotting vegetation, was once home to pirates, smugglers, Indian canoes and a shipping industry. Today the river is primarily used by shrimp boats and pleasure boats.

The town is probably best known as the Gateway to Cumberland Island, Georgia’s largest and southernmost barrier island. Access to the Island is via a 45 minute ferry ride on the Cumberland Island Ferry at a $20 adult one way fare ($18 for seniors), children under 15, $15 and under 5 are free. This price doesn’t include the $15 entrance fee to the Cumberland Island National Seashore. No vehicles are allowed on the Island. Things to see on the island are the ruins of the Dungeness Mansion, Plum Orchard Mansion, 17 miles of undeveloped, serene beaches, the First African Baptist Church and the Ice House Museum. Due to time constraints, in 2018 and on this visit, we never had an opportunity to visit.

Instead we stopped at the Visitor’s Center where we were provided with a map of St. Mary’s showing the various attractions, restaurants and shops and a few recommendations of things to do. After that, we spent the day doing some sightseeing around the town, both by car and on foot.

Beautiful day for a stroll along the walkway in the St. Mary’s Waterfront Park which opened in 2001 and features waterfront swings, a boardwalk, a fishing pier, a boat and kayak launch, a playground and an amphitheater.

Speaking of pleasure boats, we were eager to learn what St. Mary’s had for marina offerings so we continued on past the ferry dock to the intersection of St. Marys Street and Ready Street which is where the new St. Mary’s Intracoastal Gateway Marina is located. Very nice marina with floating docks. Conveniently located just a few steps away from the main part of town and it’s numerous restaurants, provisioning and shopping opportunities.

Visitors interested in the history of the town and surrounding area should check out the St. Mary’s History Walk, a 600 foot walking trail with 24 interpretive panels that highlight the milestones of St. Mary’s.

One place we found fascinating was the Oak Grove Cemetery on Bartlett and Weed Streets, the oldest site in town. It was laid out at the town’s founding in 1787 and the oldest grave is dated 1801. Originally it was seven acres but expanded in the 1950’s to fourteen acres.

Many of the graves are unmarked and there are mass graves of yellow fever victims under the main entrance road as well of 29 soldiers of the American Revolution rest here and French exiles from Nova Scotia known as The Acadians.

The Resurrection Angel stands in memorial to the two husbands of Adelaide Mitchell Paige. When her second husband died, he was buried at his family’s plantation cemetery but was moved later under cover of darkness by Adelaide so he could rest here by her first husband.

We spent a lot of time here wandering the grounds, reading the headstones and looking for the gravestone of John Brown from Rhode Island who served in the American Revolution.

Another interesting historic landmark in the town at Conyers and Osborne Streets is the Washington Oak Stump and City Well Pump which has ties to the U.S.S. Constitution in Massachusetts.

Here the historic marker reads:

St. Marys’ fresh drinking water was provided by six original wells. The last working well, located in the median in front of Orange Hall, was polluted by flooding.

When George Washington died in 1799, St. Marys’ citizens marched from the dock with a flag-draped symbolic coffin, held a memorial, and buried the coffin in tribute. Four-to-six oaks were planted in commemoration. The last of the trees, located next to the site of the last working well, was cut down in 1987 and the wood harvested for the USS Constitution restoration project.

Across the street from the Oak Stump is Orange Hall which takes its name from the large sour orange trees, which used to encircle the property. Built in 1838 for Rev. Horace Southworth Pratt, it is a showcase of antebellum life in the Greek Revival style. The mansion boasts 9,500 square feet of space, 12 fireplaces and has had 11 previous owners.

Before we knew it, our three day stay was over and it was time to move on to our next destination. To view more photos of our stay at Crooked River, check out our photo album.