Wormsloe, Library, Isle of Hope, 7601 Skidaway Road, Savannah, Chatham County, GA

2014 Leicester B. Holland Prize, Entry
Significance: Wormsloe Plantation is located about ten miles south of Savannah, Georgia, on the southern portion of the Isle of Hope peninsula. It was established in 1736 by Noble Jones, a physician and architect from England. James Oglethorpe leased Jones the land and the land became an outlying plantation to the city of Savannah in the newly established colony. Jones cultivated the land, and he constructed a fortified tabby compound on the property. The remains of the tabby fortification are under the stewardship of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

Noble Jones rose to prominence in Savannah as a political figure, doctor, and surveyor. Making use of his plantation in the marshy areas outside the city, Jones also commanded a military defense against the Spanish and defended the colony from attacks from the South.

Jones's descendants carried his legacy onward after his death in 1775, continuing the cultivate the land and run the plantation. A large, wood structure plantation house was built on the property and has since undergone many renovations.

In 1906, Wymberly Jones de Renne, one of Jones's descendants, constructed a fireproof, masonry library adjacent to the marsh and near the main house. De Renne was an avid collector of books and manuscripts related to Georgia history.

Wormsloe Plantation is currently under cooperative ownership by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the University of Georgia, and Mr. and Mrs. Craig Barrow, III, the ninth generation of the Jones family to own the property.
Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N2015
Survey number: HABS GA-2126-A
Building/structure dates: 1906 Initial Construction