Its present day reputation as a vacation destination was prefaced by a time of status and prestige. For over four decades in the late 1800s, the Island belonged exclusively to the renowned Jekyll Island Club - the winter retreat for some of the most elite families in America. The Morgans, Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, Pulitzers and several other families, reputed to hold over one-sixth of the world's wealth, established the Jekyll Island Club and built a group of large cottages along Jekyll Creek. Jekyll Island was sold to the state in 1947, five years after The Club closed.It is now one of the largest ongoing restoration projects in the southeastern United States, and with over five miles of beaches and an unlimited number of outdoor activities, one of Georgia's most popular vacation destinations. http://wikitravel.org/en/Jekyll Island