ST.ANDREWS PARK Jekyll Island ,

A MEMORY TRAIL The Story of the Survivors of the Wanderer Through a Family Learning Experience

Artaventure • Richmond, VA • ( 9 0 4 ) 8 0 6 - 3 8 0 8 CurtisBowman.com Project Description

A new outdoor interpretive exhibit, A Memory Trail, is being planned for St. Andrews Park on Jekyll Island, Georgia. The exhibit will chronicle the 1858-’59 voyage, landing, subsequent events and legacy of the slave ship Wanderer, the last to reach Georgia. This new project will replace the existing monument and supplement the existing interpretive panels on the park site and offer a more comprehensive and accessible experience for heritage tourists as well as interested locals. The park is overseen and administered by the Jekyll Island Authority through its Historical Resources division. Existing Wanderer memorial and interpretive panels St. Andrews Park is located along the southwest shore of Jekyll Island, a coastal barrier island with a small local population and a substantial tourist-base. The park has open access with adequate parking, picnic tables, restroom facilities, and a path network that leads from the parking areas to the existing exhibit/ monument, a beach access, an observation deck and connecting trails leading to and from other areas of the island.

There are a combination of live oak, S. Andrews Park cedar and pine that form a shade

2 canopy in approximately 50% of the area planned for the trail. The natural functions of erosion, littoral drift and strong river currents are impacting the site. Accumulations of blown sand have build up on several sections of the path network predominately around the southwestern area adjacent to the river. For this reason, A Memory Trail will be located east of the current exhibit location, beginning at the southeastern approach path adjacent to the parking area, and continuing in a winding, linear progression north to the observation deck.

Approximately 400 linear feet of 6-8 feet wide permeable crushed aggregate path and associated turn-out areas need to be constructed from the parking area, joining an approximate 300 feet of existing path of the same aggregate terminating at the observation tower. This will accomplish a consistent surface associated with the entire length of the exhibit.

Design Approach

The Jekyll Island Museum envisions a new park exhibit that augments1 the story of the Wanderer, the last slave ship to reach Georgia in the African Slave Trade. It is believed that a family learning experience will best engage the broadest audience and help to insure that the museum’s educational mission is met. Family learning exhibit programs, through their content and presentation, encourage social interaction

1 existing didactic interpretive panels will be retained and moved to the area in front of the restrooms

3 within informal education environments. Borrowing from socio-cultural theory in psychology, this approach argues that learning happens between people during interaction, particularly during conversation. 2

This interaction has been found to be especially effective between children and their caregivers. To achieve this interaction along A Memory Trail a hierarchy The best children's books of connected messages will be revealed about slavery can do this: telegraph injustice in a through a series of progressive stations along phrase or a glance, without the trail. The main component will be a simple unduly scaring kids or but engaging fictional account of the ordeal unwisely letting them off the hook. told through the eyes of a young African who

Slavery in children's books: has been taken and enslaved. This story will What works?, Nara Schoenberg, be reinforced through colorful children’s Chicago Tribune book-style illustrations and re-created structures and settings sized for children. Historical information will also be included to aid parents/ caregivers in the explanation of context and complex issues.

This multigenerational interplay, as mentioned previously, is considered a benefit to the overall experience. Woven into the context will be questions and thought suggestions that will serve as “meaning-making”3 and suggest connections between historic and current perceptions and cultural norms.

2 Crowley& Callahan, 1998 3 how we relate to what is seen and experienced to one’s self, life, and relationships

4 Historical Background

Excerpted from research by Andrea Marroquin, Curator, Jekyll Island Museum

The Wanderer Survivors were among the last known groups of enslaved Africans illegally smuggled into America. They consisted of kidnapped children, captive warriors, ambushed traders, and African royalty. Most were just boys, between 13 and 18 years old.

Families and homes were lost and left behind in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and the Congo. One man was traded all the way across the continent, “from the coast of Africa where the sun rises.” The captives were driven to the coast, some bound and yoked like animals, headed for market.

They were marched to the mouth of the Congo River, a crowd of miserable, naked young men and women, boys and girls. There they were sold for “$1 to $2 apiece, paid for in bright-hued cloth, trinkets, and gewgaws” and imprisoned aboard the slave ship Wanderer.

In the belly of this vessel, they endured a six-week ocean voyage, fraught with terror. The captives were crammed inside the hold of the ship and caged behind iron bars. The most ferocious men were placed in chains. About 60 women and children remained on deck, “stalled like sheep in a crowded fold.” Male captives were brought up in turns for fresh air, but in stormy weather the hold stayed closed for days at a time. Many captives sickened and died from the foul air, hunger, and desperation.

5 Around 490 enslaved men, women, and children were imprisoned aboard the Wanderer, but only about 407 are believed to have survived the journey. Reports indicated that “the death rate among the poor creatures was terrible, 50 of them dying during the homeward passage.” Wanderer Survivor Charles Carr sadly remembered “sometimes 15 were picked up dead in the morning and thrown overboard.”

From Jekyll Island, the Wanderer Survivors were offered for sale and scattered throughout the South. Although many Africans from the Wanderer were reported traveling by railroad, steamer, and wagon throughout the country, a number of them also remained nearby.

Some local plantation owners came directly to Jekyll Island to purchase a live African. Judge Henry William Hopkins remembered that “The natives from the mainland & Island would come in canoes & row boats, jerk up a negro; throw him in, & off with his prize.”

One group of Wanderer Survivors were sold to the Tatemville area of Savannah, Georgia. These African men and women spoke Gullah, crafted needful things such as spoons, trays, buckets, piggins [scoop bucket], and log mortars and pestles. They used drums for social gatherings and for burials, “then all would sing and dance in a circle to the accompaniment of the drum.”

It is clear that Wanderer Survivors sought to retain their African cultural traditions and heritage in their new surroundings.

6 While the enslaved men and women brought to this area from West Africa hailed from a variety of different tribes, they shared many similar cultural traditions. Together, they created a new culture known as the Gullah Geechee, blending their ancestral traditions with those of other cultures they encountered in order to adapt to the changing needs of this new place.

The Gullah Geechee people were named for their African- based creole language. This language blended West African, English, French, and Portuguese languages, so that the enslaved community could talk to one another and also to their owners.

The Gullah Geechee have retained many cultural traditions passed down to them from their African ancestors. A variety of crafts, food, music, and dance traditions were preserved and continue to be celebrated. Today, the Gullah Geechee culture still thrives along the coast of , Georgia, North Carolina and .

7 Walking A Memory Trail

The interpretive trail begins at the first (easternmost) path connecting the parking area to the park restrooms. At this point a new accessible trail surface will be constructed incorporating a pervious mesh reinforced / crushed marl substrate. The trail will follow and replace the existing path in front of the restrooms, continue along the northernmost

Resurfacing begins, 0 ft. connector and eventually tie into to the northern section (a similar existing marl path) leading to the observation deck, the terminus of the interpretive trail. The new trail is being included and incorporated in order to bypass areas affected by accreting sand.

The trail will include intermittently placed paver-size markers that are inset in the path substrate. A bare foot print symbol will mark the trail and orient visitors as they proceed along a series of interpretive stations.

Small directional signage will be placed at the beginning of the past identifying the Wanderer Exhibit and A Memory Trail. A larger title panel, located in the open area just past the restrooms will graphically announce the beginning. It will consist of a vertical aggregate stone or wood pylon with a graphic panel that reads: A Memory Trail Survivors of the Slave Ship Wanderer and Their Legacy

8 In front of the title panel; a new monument, consisting of a shorter truncated base, will support a small contour-cut figurative sculpture fabricated in Corten steel to depict and celebrate survivors. The steel

Site of title panel and monument, material will develop a rust/sealed patina. 100 ft.

9 Interpretive/ Interactive Stations

Station 8 Observation Tower 660 ‘

600 ‘ Station 7

Station 6 500 ‘

Station 5

400 ‘ Station 4

300 ‘ Station 2 Station 3 Station 1

200 ‘

New Intro Panel & Statue

100 ‘ Restrooms New location Existing Interpretive Existing Memorial/ Panels Interpretive Panels Parking Begin Slave Trail

Note: The following descriptions are suggestions only and are meant to be guidelines for subsequent development in the design development stage.

10 1. A Home Lost The first station depicts an African setting where first encounter was made between the Africans and the slave hunters.

Personal story of kidnapping: They attacked the village and took me away.

Station 1 location, 175 ft.

Storybook

Context

Interpretive Setting

11 Context: The African slave trade was a profitable, albeit illegal, business. Slave hunters attacked and captured the young and the able.

Connections: How would you feel if this happened to you? Would you be Angry? Sad? Frightened? Interpretive setting: African hut in a Congo River Village, representing the life lost

2. March to the Sea Station describing the march to the African coast Personal story of forced march: We walked for many days through the jungle and forest, along the river tied to each other. I was scared and wanted to go home.

Context: Most of the captives were young boys. Kidnapped from their villages they were marched by slave hunters to the coast where the Wanderer anchored just offshore. The captives were ferried in dugouts to the ship. The slave traders were paid off with trinkets and other things that had value to them.

Connections: Who are these people? Where are they taking us? Can someone help me? How can you tell your friends from your enemies? What is the value of a person? To the slave trader – to your family – to yourself? Interpretive setting: Trunk of trade goods, dugout, benches

12 A March to the Sea

Station 2 location 200 ft.

Storybook

Interpretive Setting

3. The Long Voyage Personal story of the Middle Passage: We were trapped in the hold of the ship for six weeks. We felt sick, hungry, and very frightened.

Context: The captives were kept below in chains and pens and only brought on deck to be fed. Their diet consisted of corn mush and maybe a few beans. Actual reported items on board included 30 6-quart pans, 20 5-quart do., 50 1 pint tin cups, wooden spoons.

13 Connections: In America today, freedom is a birth right. How do you think the captives felt, not knowing where they were being taken or why?

Interpretive Setting: A bench representing the hold of the ship with chains illustrated, not actual. Passively suggest that young visitors contemplate the suffering below deck.

The Long Voyage

Station 3 280 ft.

Storybook

Interpretive Setting

Context

14 4. A Strange New World Personal story of the the landing: I have never been so cold. Friends did not make it to shore. I am trying to get to the fire and get warm...

Context: The Wanderer ran aground attempting to enter Jekyll Creek. Many drowned, those who reached land arrived in a pitiful condition. A big fire was made on the beach to warm the naked, shivering captives. The Africans were kept on Jekyll Island for about 10 days where sick were treated and made well enough to move. They were fed and clothed, built shelters, learned some English, and were given new names prior to their departure. Excerpted from research by Andrea Marroquin

Connections: We have clothes that keep us warm. What would it feel like to go outside in the winter in your bathing suit?

Interpretive Setting: Small demonstration/performance space and campfire talks

Mess Kettle demo– Use to encourage visiting associated exhibit in museum

15 A Strange New World

Station 4 375 ft.

Mess Kettle Storybook

5. Living Another Life Personal story of plantation life: I am working in the rice field before the sun rises. I cannot rest until after the sun falls. I am so tired.

Context: Many slaves in the coastal areas of the American South worked in rice fields that were cash crops of wealthy white planters. It was a life of servitude; forced labor with no pay, meager housing, harsh punishment and no freedom to be more.

16 Connections: If you have had a job, how old were you when you started your first? Was it all day in the summer heat?

Interpretive Setting: small re-created open-back slave cabin, small field plot with rice plants

Storybook

Station 5 425 ft.

17 6. Memories of Home Personal story of African memories: Miss Belle told me stories from our home on the river. I had forgotten, but she hadn’t.

Context: Although they adopted the ways of their owners, slaves in the coastal areas of Georgia retained many of their African traditions and folkways. These included music, dance, language, foods, crafts and stories. This blend of these cultures is know as Gullah Geechee.

Connections: Where do you think the music you like came from?

Interactives: (1) SoundPost message repeater with “Shout” music; (2) stationary percussion and drum circles; (3) hands-on manipulative that matches diet on plantations with Gullah Geechee words

Interpretive setting: Expanded turn-out area with small storytelling/ performance/ demonstration space. Possible educational programs (trunk show-style) to include cultural continuities/traditions/ adaptations related to foodways, music, crafts, Gullah Geechee language, and crafts (baskets, pottery, carved walking sticks and gourds).

18 Memories of Home

Station 6 (on right) 500 ft.

19 7. Pursuit of Freedom

Personal story of plantation life: Being read the Emancipation Proclamation tacked to a store front: Mr. Lincoln says we are free. We can live our own lives. God bless Mr. Lincoln.

Context: In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation declaring that all slaves would be free. It took many years before the descendants of the Wanderer survivors would realize this promise. It was particularly slow coming in the deep South where prejudice and discriminatory “Jim Crow” laws emerged.

Connections: What is freedom? Now you can make your own choices. Choose your trade. Work for your own land. Change your name. Educate your children. Choose where you want to live. There may be challenges ahead but now you can choose your pathway to the future.

Interactivity: SoundPost with repeating message of Gullah Geechee church choir singing a freedom song.

20 Pursuit of Happiness

Storybook

Station 7 600 ft.

Context

21 8. Generations The final station is to be located on the observation deck. Personal story of plantation life: We still share this story of our great-great grandfather. We will never forget him or what he sacrificed.

Interpretive setting: Rail mounted panels located on the north and south sides, lower level.

Context: The survivors brought many traditions from Africa and shared them with their families and friends. By passing on songs, stories, foods and folkways, many of these special traditions connect all of us today.

Connections: How might we pass on our traditions and share memories that are important to us?

Messages to interpret: Connecting generations through identity, survival, adaptation, remembrance and legacy.

Today, there are many descendants of those who survived the voyage of the Wanderer.

Array historical images of survivors, contrasting with people in the present, young and old. There are many

22 faces that are part of the American story and of the Gullah Geechee culture.

Use image and analogy of a sweetgrass basket to show how the lives of those who survived and their families that followed them are woven together into our American collective culture.

Learn More Include information about the Mosaic and describe related exhibits, books written, websites & program opportunities.

Station 8 625 ft. (on lower level)

23 We walked for many days through the jungle and along the river... tied to each other. I was scared and wanted to go home.

Most of the 486 captives were teen age boys. Kidnapped from there villages they were marched by slave hunters to the coast where the Wanderer waited.

In America we have freedom as a birth right. How do you think these people felt not knowing where they were being taken away or why?

Sample interpretive panel (for illustration only)

24 Educational Opportunities

A Memory Trail is a setting that will facilitate the creation of related activities that can expand on the self-directed storyline and further encourage interaction, understanding and shared ideas.

Individual stations can include primitive gathering areas with a grouping of log stumps for seating. Educational staff can develop “trunk shows” where carts laden with props can be wheeled to the site from remote storage. Demonstrations can reflect the exhibit messages and/or other special topics.

The exhibit and associated programs can satisfy formal education standards required by schools. By scheduling visits, teachers can satisfy requirements while immersing students in and alternative classroom setting.

The following standards include relative topics:

Social Studies Georgia Standards of Excellence Georgia Department of Education June 9, 2016

25 Third Grade United States History Year 1: American Indian Cultures through Colonization

SS3H3 c. Describe colonial life in America from the perspectives of various people: large landowners, farmers, artisans, women, children, indentured servants, slaves, and American Indians.

Fourth Grade United States History Year 2: Revolution to Reconstruction

SS4H4 Examine the main ideas of the abolitionist and suffrage movements. a. Discuss contributions of and challenges faced by Susan B. Anthony, Frederick Douglass, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Sojourner Truth, and Harriet Tubman.

SS4H6 Analyze the effects of Reconstruction on American life. a. Describe the purpose of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments. b. c. Explain how slavery was replaced by sharecropping and how freed African Americans or Blacks were prevented from exercising their newly won rights. d. Describe the effects of Jim Crow laws and practices.

26 Suggested Materials and Maintenance

Materials Structural members in re-created settings, signs, panel supports: solid-stained pressure treated lumber; end grain and cut ends sealed with Copper-Green Brown Wood Preservative or equivalent

Visitor contact surfaces: edge-radiused composite lumber fastened with stainless steel screws and brackets

Graphic panels and signs: high-resolution full color high-pressure laminate (HPL)

SoundPosts: power-coated aluminum bolted to formed concrete base

Hands-on manipulatives (low-tech interactives): stainless steel, HPL graphics, composite lumber

Maintenance HPL graphics initial edge sealing and yearly cleaning (see I-Zone cut sheet below)

27 SoundPosts: weatherproof momentary push button activated digital repeater programmed via flash drive sound files. Twin 18 AmpH batteries with A-Off-B toggle switch. Pull apart connectors to facilitate battery recharging and removal of electronics panel should repair be required. Battery Circuit Saver to prolong use of batteries before charging is required. Weatherproof speaker to serve a small group Vandal resistant push button

SoundPost systems

When your story is bigger than your sign, add cannon fire, battle hymns, soldiers reading letters from home.

Digital SoundPost systems from Vista Group let outdoor signs do more. They welcome your visitors to current attractions. They become naturalists helping visitors recognize bird songs. The clear crisp messages benefit everyone and provide access for the blind.

With the combination of weatherproof graphic structures and to- day’s maintenance free audio technology, your special story will be ready for every visitor.

Typical SoundPost: Messages are stored on digital message repeaters. No moving parts to wear out. Push buttons start messages. Weatherproof speakers. Durable, coated aluminum base and graphic panel frame. Electric line level, battery or solar powered. Concrete pad or in ground mounted.

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28 Projected Cost Estimate* A Memory Trail St. Andrews Park, Jekyll Island, Georgia

Design Development Final Exhibit Script 48 hrs @ $85 $4,080 Final Design Drawings 80 hrs @ 85 6800 Graphic Design 72 hrs @ 85 6120 Project Mgt & Admin 24 hrs @ 85 2040 Travel mileage 2200 (1100 mi x 2 trips) 0.57 1254 Travel time 32 hrs @ 45 1440 Per Diem in-kind 0 120 0 Meals (3 per day) at rate 6 64 384 Total Design $22,118 Production Illustration 1 job 2800 Fabrication 1 job 8000 Prepress 1 job 800 Graphic Production 1 job 4500 Re-created structures 1 job 12000 SoundPost interactives 2 units 6000 Manipulatives 3 units 4500 Footprint markers allowance 1500 Installation 1 job 3000 Project Mgt & Admin 1 job 40 hrs @ 85 3400 Travel mileage 2200 (1100 mi x 2 trips) 0.57 1254 Travel time 32 hrs @ 45 1440 Per Diem in-kind 0 120 0 Meals (3 per day) at rate 12 64 768 Truck rental 800 Total Production $50,762 Sub Total $72,880

Contingency @8% 5800 Profit @5% 3600 Total Base Exhibit $82,280

Associated costs Trail construction 1 job $14,000 and Options for New monument** “ $5,000 additional funding Trunk show/ props “ $2,500

*All costs are estimates. Value engineering may be required during design development phase. ** Intro sign included in base exhibit costs Estimate represents all exhibit work done by Artaventure, Richmond, VA. An alternative service provider may require cost adjustments. Trail construction, turn-outs and required mounting pads by other.

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