01/06/2025
The Jekyll Island Club was founded in 1886 as a private winter retreat for wealthy northerners, but the majority of people living on the island were the hired workers.
This workforce included significant numbers of African American employees. By the 1930s, over 77% of the Club employees were African American. For over half a century, Club employees helped to build the resort, run and maintain it, and preserve its stories.
Charlie Hill, Coachman and Caretaker for the Maurice family of Hollybourne Cottage, was the oldest of the original employees of the Jekyll Island Club.
He brought the first group of millionaires to Jekyll, by way of a rowboat, to inspect the island for possible purchase. Then, as an island employee for 51 years, he stayed on to witness the entire span of the Jekyll Island Club.
1891-1942
