SSI Archives

The “Coolest” Hotel on the Island

Among the earliest hotels on St. Simons Island, Ocean View House was owned and operated by Annie and Carl E.W. Arnold. The hotel was located in the vicinity of The King & Prince Beach & Golf Resort’s present site and, according to an 1883 advertisement in the Brunswick Advertiser and Appeal, was just “one hundred yards from the beach.” At that time, St. Simons was being discovered by vacationers from the mainland who were attracted by the cool ocean breezes and surf bathing. They arrived by steamer to the main island dock at Gascoigne Bluff, which also served the adjacent lumber mills. Few island residents lived near the beach, and the Village pier would not be constructed until about 1890. Carl Arnold was born in Germany in the 1840s. After coming to America in 1869, he stopped briefly in New York before settling in Tattnall County, Georgia in 1870. He was later drawn to St. Simons Island, where he bought thirty acres of beachfront property and opened the Ocean View. His wife, Annie Stevens, was from a prominent St. Simons family of seamen, who owned and sailed vessels along the Southeastern coast, transporting cargo of Sea Island cotton, rice, and supplies for coastal towns. Her father Charles had emigrated from Denmark in 1836 and acquired property that included the long-abandoned Fort Frederica. Annie, born in 1844, grew up among the ruins of the colonial fort. A 1913 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map indicates that, in addition to the main building, there were several vacation cottages on the Ocean View property, as well as a bath house, laundry, and auto garage. Carl Arnold died in 1924, followed three years later by Annie. The hotel, also known as Arnold House, reportedly continued in operation until the early 1950s.

This month’s image is a 1916 color postcard, which describes Ocean View as the “coolest place” on the island with the “safest surf bathing” and “artesian mineral water.” The postcard lists room rates of $2 per day or $11 to $13 per week. Also shown is a 1927 photograph of the main building with guests sitting on second floor window ledges.

Our monthly images on this page are from the vast archives of the Coastal Georgia Historical Society. The Society’s mission includes the “administration, restoration and maintenance of historic facilities and resources … preserved as a living part of the historical and cultural foundations of our coastal community.” Society facilities include the St. Simons Lighthouse and Museum, the A.W. Jones Heritage Center, and the Historic Coast Guard Station. To learn more about the Society, its diverse programs, and the benefits of Society membership, please call 912.634.7090 or visit coastalgeorgiahistory.org.