If you ever visit Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in Folkston, Georgia, you will have an opportunity to see how many people once lived. The Chesser Island Homestead is located on the Swamp Island Drive. While you can drive to a parking lot to get to the house, you do have to get out of your car and walk a short distance through the woods to get to the location of the house.

According to many websites, in the late 1850’s, W.T. Chesser brought his family with him to settle a small island in the Okefenokee Swamp. They were a typical family of the time. They lived a simple life, hunted or planted the crops for their food, and grew crops of tobacco, corn, and sugar cane to make money off of. If you ever visit the Okefenokee you will see pine trees everywhere. They used the sap out of the trees to sell turpentine as well. You might as well make use of what is available.

The homestead that we see today is not the one from the 1850’s. The original homestead was built south of the one that stands today. The Chesser’s that settled the land in the 1850’s has six sons. One of the Chesser son’s was named Sam. He married a lady named Sara, and together they had nine children. Their youngest son, Tom, built the current home in 1927 for about $200 with his wife Iva.

If you visit the house, you will notice that rooms have been added on. The original house had four rooms and an indoor kitchen. The family of Tom and Iva grew to include seven children, so it was necessary to add an additional two bedrooms. In 2015 the house was open for Pioneer Day, so I was able to finally go inside and see the interior of the house myself. There are several beds inside the house, books, a radio, a clock, and the kitchen can still be used today. A group of people were inside cooking up food that would have been eaten at the time the Chesser’s still lived there. Most of the food was absolutely delicious.

When you are out in the yard, the first thing you will notice that is different is that the yard has no grass. The yard was kept free of grass and swept so they could see snakes clearly. The wildlife is very abundant today at the Okefenokee, so I’m sure that they were looking for more than just snakes in the yard. Alligators are everywhere you go, turtles, snakes, deer, and even black bears are also known to roam around. I have never personally seen a black bear while I have visited, but quite a few people have taken pictures of the bears.

There are many buildings surrounding the homestead. You can see chicken coops, hog pens, a syrup shed, and other buildings that would be known as storage sheds in today’s world. One of the buildings on a recent visit held jars of canned vegetables inside of it. While everyone used to can their vegetables from their summer gardens, you really don’t hear much about people doing that anymore. It’s just more convenient to go to a grocery store to pick up whatever you need. It’s sad sometimes to think that the way people once had to survive and the ideas they had on how to do it are slowly fading away in the modern world we live in.

In 1937 the vast majority of the Okefenokee Swamp became what is now called Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. The Chesser’s started leaving the swamp and relocated to other areas nearby. Finally in 1958, Tom and Iva left as well. The house they built and raised a family in still stands today as a reminder of the past.

The Chesser Island Homestead can be visited almost anytime the refuge is open. You can not get inside the house if a volunteer is not at the home or a special event is going on, but the walk around the outside of the home is just as special as well. It is located at 2700 Suwannee Canal Road in Folkston, Georgia inside of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. There is a $5 fee per car to visit the Refuge, but that is a small price to pay for such an adventure. I have many more blogs to write about this amazing place. On another note, if you do have a park pass for the National Parks, that does get you into this park for free since it also covers all public lands.

Published by travelingthesoutheast

My name is Donna. At an early age I had a love for photography. There was nothing more fun than taking film to a store and then having to wait several days to get the photographs back, sometimes only to find out that none of the pictures turned out the way I wanted them to. Quite a few years ago digital came out, and the rest is history. I can always be found with a camera around my neck, on my arm, or in my hand. I have always had a love for telling stories and sharing them with others. My imagination has always been a little on the wild side. About ten years ago, I decided one day that I wanted to start traveling, and I have never looked back. There is nothing in the world that I enjoy more than traveling and taking photographs. View all posts by travelingthesoutheast