Wild horses of cumberland island

Anouk Krantz

Wild Horses

of Cumberland Island

Anouk Krantz impressum

Wild Horses

of Cumberland Island

Anouk Krantz impressum

Wild Horses

of Cumberland Island

Table of contents 7 Foreword

11

Latitude and Longitude: 30.8533° N 81.4389° W

15 Ecology 19 History 23

Cumberland Island Today

29

Wild Horses—An Ethereal Presence

34

Wild Horses of Cumberland Island

232 Acknowledgements

Table of contents 7 Foreword

11

Latitude and Longitude: 30.8533° N 81.4389° W

15 Ecology 19 History 23

Cumberland Island Today

29

Wild Horses—An Ethereal Presence

34

Wild Horses of Cumberland Island

232 Acknowledgements

Latitude and Longitude: 30.8533° N 81.4389° W 8

We all live in an interconnected, fast-paced world, one that is increasingly reliant on sleek screens and new devices, each carefully designed to improve our productivity and quality of life. Cumberland Island, the largest of Georgia’s barrier islands, provides a reversed luxury. Life experienced here is a tender yet forceful reminder of bygone times. It is at once a welcome escape from modern life, a place to unplug and reconnect with the natural world within a veritable isolated paradise. The captivating scenery, fragrant jasmine, and hypnotic rhythms of the surf provide a therapeutic alternative to a household of ringtones and reminders.

Time spent on Cumberland will reacquaint you with the simplest understanding of the vital elements we need to nourish the soul. Consider it a vacation from modernity in the spirit of the Existentialists—a sophisticated simplicity. The beaches are vast expanses of sand, where the rare encounter with another human will make you both feel like bold adventurers sharing a newly discovered secret. Moving inland, you quickly find yourself enveloped by a dark, sub-tropical forest, where twisting, towering oaks draped in elegant Spanish moss rise above a sea of lush green palmetto and you cannot help but to wonder if Hobbits are quietly watching your every step.

Elsewhere, the island exudes a sense of peaceful order in its natural state that is at once familiar and comforting and awakens primal instincts from within. Familiar, that is, until you see your first band of wild horses that instantly inspire awe and astonishment. First introduced to the island centuries ago by early European settlers, these magnificent creatures offer the exotic allure and showmanship that an ambitious host would import as entertainment to leave their guests spellbound.

Cumberland has a rich history of pioneering residents who have long treasured the unspoiled grace of this coastal sanctuary.

The natural wonders from within have made Cumberland Island an escape for a select few of America’s most influential and wealthiest families seeking the ultimate in decadent natural beauty and utmost privacy. They include members of the Carnegie family, who acquired most of the island in the late 1800s and later donated their prized treasure to the National Park Service. The island will now forever be a preserved wilderness, an isolated sanctuary within a world erupting into modern landscapes.

Cumberland Oaks

9

Latitude and Longitude: 30.8533° N 81.4389° W 8

We all live in an interconnected, fast-paced world, one that is increasingly reliant on sleek screens and new devices, each carefully designed to improve our productivity and quality of life. Cumberland Island, the largest of Georgia’s barrier islands, provides a reversed luxury. Life experienced here is a tender yet forceful reminder of bygone times. It is at once a welcome escape from modern life, a place to unplug and reconnect with the natural world within a veritable isolated paradise. The captivating scenery, fragrant jasmine, and hypnotic rhythms of the surf provide a therapeutic alternative to a household of ringtones and reminders.

Time spent on Cumberland will reacquaint you with the simplest understanding of the vital elements we need to nourish the soul. Consider it a vacation from modernity in the spirit of the Existentialists—a sophisticated simplicity. The beaches are vast expanses of sand, where the rare encounter with another human will make you both feel like bold adventurers sharing a newly discovered secret. Moving inland, you quickly find yourself enveloped by a dark, sub-tropical forest, where twisting, towering oaks draped in elegant Spanish moss rise above a sea of lush green palmetto and you cannot help but to wonder if Hobbits are quietly watching your every step.

Elsewhere, the island exudes a sense of peaceful order in its natural state that is at once familiar and comforting and awakens primal instincts from within. Familiar, that is, until you see your first band of wild horses that instantly inspire awe and astonishment. First introduced to the island centuries ago by early European settlers, these magnificent creatures offer the exotic allure and showmanship that an ambitious host would import as entertainment to leave their guests spellbound.

Cumberland has a rich history of pioneering residents who have long treasured the unspoiled grace of this coastal sanctuary.

The natural wonders from within have made Cumberland Island an escape for a select few of America’s most influential and wealthiest families seeking the ultimate in decadent natural beauty and utmost privacy. They include members of the Carnegie family, who acquired most of the island in the late 1800s and later donated their prized treasure to the National Park Service. The island will now forever be a preserved wilderness, an isolated sanctuary within a world erupting into modern landscapes.

Cumberland Oaks

9

History 12

Native American Indians are thought to have first settled on Cumberland Island over 4000 years ago. Artifacts of the Timucua people show that they occupied the island’s coastal marshes and maintained complex trading routes up and down the coasts of Georgia and Florida. Spanish explorers and missionaries arrived in the mid 1500s and their occupation of Cumberland Island continued for almost a century. The French, the Spanish, and the English exchanged ownership and control of the island until the 18th century.

English General James Oglethorpe first reached the southern Georgia coast in the mid 1730s and found the island largely abandoned. He later named the island Cumberland Island, in honor of the 13-year old Prince William, Duke of Cumberland. Oglethorpe built himself a hunting lodge to host guests at the southern end of the island, which he called Dungeness.

Following the Revolutionary War, Union general Nathaniel Greene and his wife Catherine acquired most of the southern half of Cumberland Island. An impressive mansion was built on the site of Oglethorpe’s lodge, also named Dungeness.

With the end of the Civil War and abolition of slavery, successful business leaders and political luminaries from the North flocked to the South, taken by its extraordinary beauty, relaxed pace of life, and favorable winter weather. By the turn of the 19th century a new industry, tourism, had become firmly established and neighboring St. Simon’s Island, Jekyll Island, and Amelia Island began to see increasing numbers of second homes and commercial resort destinations to cater to this new class of visitors from the North.

Thomas Carnegie, the younger brother and business partner of the famed steel magnate Andrew Carnegie, and his wife, Lucy Coleman Carnegie discovered Cumberland Island for themselves in 1880 and were immediately taken by its natural splendor, abundance, and discreet privacy. Lucy went on to acquire most of the island and over time the family developed an expansive retreat that could comfortably accommodate their many children and grandchildren. Several of these impressive homes still stand today, including Plum Orchard Mansion, Stafford Mansion, and Greyfield Inn. Much has been written about the Carnegie’s tenure here, as Cumberland Island became an integral part of the family for nearly 100 years. Most all of Thomas’ and Lucy’s descendants have spent substantial time on the island, and the family developed a strong sense of belonging and a personal passion for Cumberland Island that endures to this day.

As time moved on and future generations of Carnegies found it increasingly difficult to incorporate Cumberland Island into busy lifestyles and other personal demands, the family along with several other landowners, generously turned a large majority of the island over to the National Park Service in 1972. It has since been tasked with the delicate challenge of providing public access to one of the country’s most remarkable natural treasures, while limiting access so as to protect its fragile ecosystems.

Plum Orchard

13

History 12

Native American Indians are thought to have first settled on Cumberland Island over 4000 years ago. Artifacts of the Timucua people show that they occupied the island’s coastal marshes and maintained complex trading routes up and down the coasts of Georgia and Florida. Spanish explorers and missionaries arrived in the mid 1500s and their occupation of Cumberland Island continued for almost a century. The French, the Spanish, and the English exchanged ownership and control of the island until the 18th century.

English General James Oglethorpe first reached the southern Georgia coast in the mid 1730s and found the island largely abandoned. He later named the island Cumberland Island, in honor of the 13-year old Prince William, Duke of Cumberland. Oglethorpe built himself a hunting lodge to host guests at the southern end of the island, which he called Dungeness.

Following the Revolutionary War, Union general Nathaniel Greene and his wife Catherine acquired most of the southern half of Cumberland Island. An impressive mansion was built on the site of Oglethorpe’s lodge, also named Dungeness.

With the end of the Civil War and abolition of slavery, successful business leaders and political luminaries from the North flocked to the South, taken by its extraordinary beauty, relaxed pace of life, and favorable winter weather. By the turn of the 19th century a new industry, tourism, had become firmly established and neighboring St. Simon’s Island, Jekyll Island, and Amelia Island began to see increasing numbers of second homes and commercial resort destinations to cater to this new class of visitors from the North.

Thomas Carnegie, the younger brother and business partner of the famed steel magnate Andrew Carnegie, and his wife, Lucy Coleman Carnegie discovered Cumberland Island for themselves in 1880 and were immediately taken by its natural splendor, abundance, and discreet privacy. Lucy went on to acquire most of the island and over time the family developed an expansive retreat that could comfortably accommodate their many children and grandchildren. Several of these impressive homes still stand today, including Plum Orchard Mansion, Stafford Mansion, and Greyfield Inn. Much has been written about the Carnegie’s tenure here, as Cumberland Island became an integral part of the family for nearly 100 years. Most all of Thomas’ and Lucy’s descendants have spent substantial time on the island, and the family developed a strong sense of belonging and a personal passion for Cumberland Island that endures to this day.

As time moved on and future generations of Carnegies found it increasingly difficult to incorporate Cumberland Island into busy lifestyles and other personal demands, the family along with several other landowners, generously turned a large majority of the island over to the National Park Service in 1972. It has since been tasked with the delicate challenge of providing public access to one of the country’s most remarkable natural treasures, while limiting access so as to protect its fragile ecosystems.

Plum Orchard

13

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15

Plum Orchard

14

15

Plum Orchard

26

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26

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Wild Horses of Cumberland Island Anouk Masson Krantz

A longtime favorite getaway for America’s most influential families, Cumberland Island, off the Atlantic coast of Georgia, offers breathtaking white-sand beaches, rolling dunes, old-growth oak forests, and salt marsh tidal estuaries. At the center of it all is a population of horses that has thrived, untouched for generations, within this serene sanctuary.

In Wild Horses of Cumberland Island, photographer Anouk Masson Krantz has captured the dramatic scenery and majestic horses as they

have never been seen before. Her images show the remarkable animals in their naturally diverse ecosystems. A lone horse on a distant beach; four creatures peacefully grazing; a shy animal peering over its shoulder from a brushy thicket—Krantz’s portofolio, built over the last decade is an intimate reflection not only of Cumberland Island’s exceptional beauty and spirited horses, but of the history and the safekeeping that have allowed both to flourish.

ISBN 978 1 86470 742 7 Format 322mm x 280mm Binding Casebound with jacket Pages 240 Illustrations Black and white (duotone) In bookstores October 2017

For publicity information contact Merry Lovell: merry@imagespublishing.com +61 3 9561 5544 Distributed in North America by ACC Distribution www.accpublishinggroup.com/us To place an order contact ACC Distribution at +1 413 529 0861 or ussales@accpublishinggroup.com Distributed rest of world by ACC Distribution www.accpublishinggroup.com/uk To place an order contact ACC Distribution at +44 (0) 1394 389 950 or uksales@accpublishinggroup.com