Oatland Island: An Oasis with a History

The old Railroad Conductors Home now indoor classrooms and offices for Oatland Island

​There are places that have an ongoing and developing history for the people of Savannah. Some of it precedes me and much will remain after me. One of those places is Oatland Island. It sits east of Savannah and is one of the first islands you encounter once leaving Savannah. It was cleared to plant cotton in the 18th and 19th centuries when cotton was king. But cotton was dethroned. The railroads came and in 1927 a large columned and brick building was constructed as a retirement home for the International Order of Railroad Conductors. The conductors, caught up in the spirit of the unions, wanted to provide a home for those who had no family or needed more care than their family could provide. Across the waterway sits Bonaventure Cemetery. In Bonaventure Cemetery the Order of Railroad Conductors have a burial ground section for conductors.

But time continues and after World War Two the railroads prominence had passed. There was a need for a hospital for the U S Public Health Service and the Center for Disease Control to have a place in the south to research different diseases. So from 1941 to 1973 the land and building served these two purposes. Research was conducted for a cure for syphilis but when penicillin came this research was no longer needed. The no pest fly strip was first created here. The use of DDT of Rachel Carson fame was experimented with as a pesticide but that too was ended with a government ban on DDT.

In 1973 the CDC no longer needed the site and offered it to the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System. They took the land and made it the Oatland Island Wildlife Educational Center. This is what it is today. It has offered itself as an educational resource to the children and adults of the community. Over 20,000 children are served there every year. It is over 150 acres of land with exhibits of animals native to Georgia thus its sometime moniker of Savannah’s Zoo. One of Savannah’s more infamous books The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys written by Chris Fuhrman (I have an archived article on Fuhrman)  places Oatland Island and its cougar into the plotline.

One of Savannah’s thriving businesses received its start here. The Savannah Bee Company founded and owned by Ted Dennard started here. Dennard, who as a young man taught beekeeping in Central America as a Peace Corps volunteer, worked at Oatland Island after the Peace Corps. In 2002 he decided to follow his bee passion. He used an old 800 square foot classroom at Oatland Island.  When he started he had no money and paid his rent in honey. Today his business is a multimillion dollar business and the Savannah Bee Company literally sells its honey all over the world. Dennard, keeping to his Oatland Island and Peace Corps values, sponsors a non-profit that educates schools and communities in how to keep their own bees.
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Today, Oatland Island has not only the animals but a heritage homesite where annual Sheep to Shawl and Cane Grinding Festivals are held. It is one of the cultural centers of the Savannah area that everyone who grows up here has spent some time being educated about nature and wildlife. It maintains a beautiful lagoon and marsh boardwalk. The land and building have serviced Savannah in many ways through the years. It reminds me of the importance of places and the keeping of them close to heart and hand. 

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Oatland Island Marsh Walk