University of Florida archaeologists spent over two years excavating Cannon's Point in the 1970s. They found evidence of thousands of years of Native American occupation alongside the remains of the plantation-era landscape, and the record they built changed how people understand the Georgia coast.
Those collections now belong to the island again. The Coastal Georgia Historical Society describes the Cannon's Point archaeological collections as recently returned to its care, "fulfilling a vision first established more than fifty years ago." The objects and the ground they came from are on St. Simons together, and the ground is open to anyone. A free walk out of Taylor's Fish Camp on a Saturday, Sunday or Monday takes you through the places the collection records.
What actually came home
The size of the return is easiest to grasp from the Historical Society's 2025 annual report. It lists the artifacts as held in trust under an agreement with donor Bill Jones III. They came from excavations and site surveys completed by University of Florida personnel in the 1970s, at more than twenty sites, many of them around Cannon's Point. The report says the objects cover more than 4,000 years of island history and include:
- Native American pottery
- Tableware and glassware
- Metal, bone and shell tools
- Buttons
- Animal bones
The report puts the count in the tens of thousands. It also says the transfer "essentially doubl[ed]" the Society's archaeology collection. One donation now accounts for about half of everything the island's main history organization holds from the ground.
The work behind it ran through the CGHS Archaeology Laboratory. In 2025, its first year with a full-time professional archaeologist, Dr. Aaron Ellrich, the lab facilitated the St. Simons Island Archaeology Collections transfer. The annual report says that meant bringing in more than 30 new collections, analyzing and cataloging over 5,400 artifacts, and preparing a new room for the growing holdings. Set against a collection counted in the tens of thousands, 5,400 cataloged artifacts is an early share of the work.
A second set of Cannon's Point artifacts also stays local. The St. Simons Land Trust, which owns the preserve, partners with the Historical Society to curate artifacts from its own research there. It keeps them on the island so they can be shared in display cases at events and educational programs. That is a separate body of finds from the 1970s University of Florida assemblage. If you have seen artifacts in a display case at a Land Trust event, you were most likely looking at the Land Trust's own material.
The walk reads differently now
Cannon's Point Preserve covers more than six miles of salt marsh, tidal creek and river shoreline. The Land Trust describes shell middens there dating to 2500 BCE, along with the remains of John Couper's plantation home and the quarters of the people enslaved there. That is the same span the returned collection covers, from Native American pottery to plantation-era tableware and buttons. A walk to the Couper ruins passes the sites where that material came from.
Here is the route as the Land Trust's preserve FAQ lays it out, in the order you reach it:
- Turn in off Lawrence Road at Cannon's Point Drive. The entrance road leads to the old Taylor's Fish Camp on Lawrence Creek.
- Park in the southern area. That is where you'll find the education pavilion, the lab, an observation tower, the non-motorized kayak launch, a hiking trail and the only restrooms on the property.
- Continue on foot or by bicycle. Past the parking area, cars stay behind.
- Head north to the plantation house ruins. The round trip is roughly five miles. The Land Trust estimates about two hours on foot or about 40 minutes by bike.
Interpretive signs stand along the trails and at the main sites. For anyone who can't make the five-mile trip, the Land Trust says the southern area is wheelchair accessible, including the restrooms, pavilion, dock and southern loop trail.
The preserve's limited hours shape the visit. Per the Land Trust FAQ, it is free and open Saturday through Monday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The kayak and paddleboard launch closes earlier, at 1 p.m. With a two-hour walk to the ruins and back, a party arriving after 1 p.m. on foot has little time to spare before the gates close.
The November version comes with the archaeologist
The Historical Society's annual Journeys program is the one time this fall when the collection and the ground are presented together, by someone who knows both. Dr. Jerald T. Milanich, Curator Emeritus at the Florida Museum of Natural History, is leading both parts of Journeys 2026. His lecture will look back at the original excavations, the project's lasting significance and the return of the collections to the Society.
| Lecture | Field trips | |
|---|---|---|
| Title | "The 4,000-Year-Old History of Cannon's Point" | Guided tours of archaeological sites with Dr. Milanich |
| Date and time | Tuesday, November 17, 6 p.m. | Wednesday, November 18, at 9 a.m. or 1:30 p.m. |
| Length | Evening lecture | About three hours |
| Location | St. Simons Presbyterian Church, 205 Kings Way | Meet at Taylor's Fish Camp |
| Cost | Free for CGHS members, $15 for non-members | $100 |
| Capacity | Registration through CGHS | 30 people per tour, closes when full |
Lecture registration is on the Journeys 2026 lecture page. Field trip details are on the Journeys 2026 field trips page. Field trip registration opened October 1. The two tours hold 60 people combined, and the Society closes registration when they fill, so check availability before planning around November 18. The Society credits Sea Island with arranging transportation for this year's field trips.
The lecture page also clarifies the fees. Cannon's Point Preserve is open to the public free of charge, and none of the Journeys fee goes to the Land Trust or pays for access to the preserve. The $100 pays for three hours with the curator emeritus who studied the excavations. The walk itself stays free any Saturday, Sunday or Monday.
Rules that matter more because of what's underground
Some of the preserve's rules make more sense once you know how much has already come out of this ground. The Land Trust's basic information page prohibits collecting of any kind, drones and metal detectors. Visitors must stay outside the fencing around the ruins. The collecting ban covers the same ground where the Land Trust dates shell middens to 2500 BCE.
The rest is practical:
- Pets: Not allowed, except trained service animals.
- Bikes and e-bikes: Both are welcome, but must stay on the roads and off the side trails.
- Water: The preserve has no potable water, so bring your own.
- Restrooms: Only near the southern parking lot and pavilion, nowhere along the route to the ruins.
- Insects and trash: The Land Trust advises bringing insect protection, staying on marked trails and packing out everything you bring in.
Beyond walking, the preserve allows birding, picnicking and paddling from the non-motorized launch. Canoes, paddleboards and kayaks all qualify. A morning paddle on Lawrence Creek needs an early start, since the launch closes at 1 p.m.
Two more dates on the Land Trust calendar
The Land Trust's events page lists a few things worth adding to the calendar. Its membership drive runs until midnight November 12, 2026. New, renewing or upgrading members at the $100 annual level or higher are entered for a two-night stay on Little St. Simons Island. The Oyster Roast is set for February 20, 2027.
The preserve can also be done in a single day before the lecture. The Land Trust's posted hours have it open on Mondays, and November 16 falls the day before Dr. Milanich speaks at St. Simons Presbyterian Church. Walk out to the Couper ruins that morning, and on Tuesday evening hear how the University of Florida team recorded the same ground fifty years ago.
Mackay Cate was born and raised in the Golden Isles, and places like Cannon's Point are part of what makes the north end of St. Simons distinct from the rest of the island. If you own near Lawrence Road or anywhere on the island and want to know where your home stands this fall, Mackay Cate can give you a local read. Get a Free Home Valuation.
