Ossabaw Island
Location: Ossabaw Island, Georgia
Current Status: Favorable

Ossabaw Island (Photo: Ossabaw Foundation)

Located 20 miles south of Savannah, Ossabaw has so remained one of the best-preserved of Georgia's magnificent barrier islands. With a total area of 25,000 acres, its many natural zones progressing from the ocean include beaches, dunes, meadows, ponds, maritime forests and freshwater and saltwater marshes. Inhabited by the Native Americans from as early as 2200 B.C. to the 18th-century, the island offers numerous archeological sites, as well as slave cabins, a late 19th-century prefab house and a grand 1920s mansion in the midst of its undisturbed wildlife. A partnership between the Ossabaw Foundation and the State of Georgia offers educational programs that share the riches of the island's ecosystems with school groups, scientists and scholars. New sources of funding are needed to restore Ossabaw's historic buildings as educational facilities and to ensure that the island's natural wonders remain a fertile ground for learning and quiet contemplation.

Exterior of the Main House on Ossabaw Island (Photo: Ossabaw Foundation)

UPDATE: The proposed management plan, when approved, will guide applicable management, research, educational and conservation activities on Ossabaw Island in support of the Executive Order establishing Ossabaw as a Georgia Heritage Preserve.
In December 1999, the Ossabaw Island Foundation undertook the $300,000 rehabilitation of the Club House, a residential property constructed in 1886.The Ossabaw Island Foundation has also published "Images of America: Ossabaw Island" in celebration of the island.

Last Updated: 1/2003

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Read the 11 Most Summary Report from 2000

The Ossabaw Island Foundation