• Ossabaw derives from the Guale (Wally) Indian word in the Muskogean or Creek language that means, literally, “yaupon holly bushes place”. The Muskogean peoples who used them to make the “black drink” prized the leaves of the cassine or yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria). This tea induced vomiting that signified cleansing and purification.

• More than 200 archaeological sites are on the island.
  
• Artifacts found on Ossabaw date to 4,000 years ago.
  
• To allow the British to establish a colony Ossabaw along with two other barrier islands (St Catherine’s and Sapelo) were reserved for the Indians for hunting.
  
• Ossabaw was granted by the Crown to Grey Elliott in 1760. The deed was signed by King George II.
  
• In 1760 Ossabaw and the fore mentioned islands were sold to Mary Musgrove Bosomworth, Oglethorpe’s half-Indian interpreter for services rendered to the British Crown.
  
• The island was farmed and timbered beginning in 1763.
  
• In 1777 the island was divided among brothers and the island was divided onto four plantations, North End, Middle Place, South End, and Buckhead.
  
• Indigo, rice and cotton were grown on these plantations.
  
• After the Civil War African-Americans continued to live and farm on the island till the early 1880s when a series of hurricanes ruined their farming operations.
  
• Descendants of Ossabaw Island slaves moved to the mainland and settled at Pinpoint, Georgia hometown of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
  
• 1902-1924 the island was used as a hunting preserve for wealthy people wishing to escape the rigors of northern winters.
  
• Dr. Henry Norton Torrey and Nell Ford Torrey purchased the island in 1924, for their winter residence after their house in Savannah burned.
  
• The Torrey’s constructed a pink stucco Spanish Revival mansion designed by Swedish born architect Henrick Wallin. Their new winter residence was completed in 1926.

The Recent History and the Current Situation

The inspiration for establishing a conservation station on Ossabaw to promote educational and research opportunities on the island evolved from its previous use. In 1961, Clifford and Eleanor Torrey West established The Ossabaw Foundation, a private foundation which conducted 4 programs: The Ossabaw Island Project, Genesis, Professional Research, and Public Use & Education.

These programs, which involved the arts, humanities, scientific study and education, invited participants from all over the world. Programs were based on the same premise: that man must understand as fully as he can his relation to the environment and the relation of the environment to him.

The roster of participants included: composers Aaron Copland, Samuel Barber; writers Ralph Ellison, Annie Dillard, Olive Ann Burns, Margaret Atwood and Rosemary Daniell; sculptor Harry Bertoia; and scientists Eugene Odum, Chester dePrater, and Charles Pearson. Of several hundred artists and scholars who were fortunate to participate in Mrs. West's programs, most say that Ossabaw was a life-changing experience, a seminal moment in shaping their talents and careers.

Eleanor Torrey-West's ability to subsidize and nurture such talent in perpetuity was unsustainable. Near the end of her personal resources by 1978, Mrs. West and her brother's children chose to sell Ossabaw to the State of Georgia, rather than see it developed, on the clear understanding that it would be conserved for study and research.

In the early 90's Mrs. West invited a group of Savannah residents to rejuvenate her conservation and educational efforts through an independent trust. Her private Ossabaw Foundation was retired. Its successor, The Ossabaw Island Foundation, a public charity under IRS Code sections 501(c)3, was established in 1994.

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