Where Gumbo Was #435
Congratulations go to George G for finding Gumbo at Fort King George!
Fort King George does a great job of showing the history of and battles for the land from Native Americans to European Colonial empires. It also shows the history of the lumber and shrimp industry. There is a nice museum there. The buildings are wonderfully reconstructed and there are some remnants of original buildings too.
The Guale lived in the area for over 12,000 years. They spoke a Muskigean language. After European contact they broke up into several tribes.
Spanish missionaries came to area in the late 1500’s and made a mission there to convert Native Americans to Christianity. Conditions and forced labor led to a revolt in1597 and the mission wasn’t rebuilt until 1604. The Spanish finally left when the Weston tribe allied with the British and revolted in 1661.
In 1721, British Colonel John Barnwell brought people, which included slaves, to build Fort King George. His plan was to build a series of ports to protect Carolina’s southern border from the Spanish and the French. He never got the funds and this was the only Fort along Carolina’s southern border. Disease, starvation and fires led to the site being decommissioned after only 6 years.
The fort did secure British rule of the area and allowed General James Oglethorpe to establish the colony of Georgia. The General recruited a group of Scottish Highlanders to settle that area. Darien, that was around the Fort. The Scottish helped defeat the Spanish on St Simons Island in 1742.
After Darien was established, the lumber industry took off. One mill was on Fort’s property. In the 1920’s, the lumber industry stopped and the shrimping industry started. Shrimping is still Darien’s main industry.
