The Marshes of Glynn - Glynn County, Georgia

It is a little known fact that Georgia has (and protects) more salt marsh than any other state on the East Coast of the United States. Perhaps the best known of these grasslands are the Marshes of Glynn, which separate Jekyll, St. Simons and the other Golden Isles from the mainland of Georgia.

Vast seas of grass that team with life, the Marshes of Glynn are part of one of the most productive eco-systems in the world. They are the breeding grounds for Georgia shrimp, blue crab and oysters and also filter pollutants from water.

The marshes have long attracted the attention of mankind, but they owe their greatest fame to the poet Sidney Lanier. In 1878, he penned his beautiful poem "The Marshes of Glynn," a widely acclaimed work that provides one of the finest word pictures ever written of an American landscape.

The marshes can be seen from the causeways leading to both St. Simons Island and Jekyll Island. The overlook at the Jekyll Island Welcome Center provides a spectacular panoramic view of the marshes, and they can also be seen from many points along the interior coast of Jekyll Island. A particularly beautiful spot is on the grounds of the Horton House Historic Site.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/marshesofglynn.