Coastal Georgia Historical Society’s mission is to protect and maintain the historic buildings entrusted to our care. A Preservation Maintenance Fund for the World War II Home Front Museum and the St. Simons Lighthouse Museum and Keeper’s Dwelling have been established, and the income generated from these funds will be used to complete a regular schedule of essential work on the historic buildings. The funds are separately held and restricted so as to ensure that all funds are used exclusively for the prescribed purpose; the funds are collectively managed for efficiency and accounted for as an asset of the Society. The work will adhere to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties and will be overseen by the Society’s Curator. Detailed preservation maintenance plans are available upon request.
Your gift to the World War II Home Front Museum Preservation Maintenance Fund will ensure that resources are permanently available to maintain the Historic Coast Guard Station buildings, a distinctive landmark of our area since 1936. The St. Simons Coast Guard Station at East Beach was constructed as one of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s public works projects in 1936, and remained active until 1995. Colonial revival in style, the architecture recalls America’s rich maritime heritage, and the Station is also listed on the National Register. The most significant life-saving effort in the Station’s history took place on April 8, 1942, when two merchant ships, S.S. Esso Baton Rouge and S.S. Oklahoma, were torpedoed by a German U-boat off the coast of St. Simons Island, killing 22 crew members. The Coast Guard immediately launched a rescue effort to save the survivors, who were brought to the Station for debriefing. In December 2018, the Society reopened the Station as a World War II Home Front Museum to commemorate our local story, highlighting the wartime patriotism and enterprise of our coastal community. For more information, please call Sheila VanderWood at (912) 634-7096.
Your gift to the St. Simons Lighthouse Museum Preservation Maintenance Fund will ensure that future generations can experience the St. Simons Lighthouse and Keeper’s Dwelling, which has been a landmark of our area since 1872. The St. Simons Lighthouse and Keepers Dwelling are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and have been open to the public as a history museum since 1975. Each year, visitors stroll through the Lighthouse grounds, enjoy the spectacular view from the top of the tower, and learn about local history through exhibits in the Dwelling, which span several centuries. The Lighthouse is an active navigational beacon, used by hundreds of ships that visit the busy Port of Brunswick every year. For more information, please call Sheila VanderWood at (912) 634-7096.
