About Dungeness (Cumberland Island, Georgia)
Historic Architecture, Architecture, Historical Places, Historic, Interesting Places, Historic Districts, Historic Settlements, Farms
Dungeness on Cumberland Island, Georgia, is a ruined mansion that is part of a historic district that was the home of several families significant in American history. James Oglethorpe first built on Cumberland Island in 1736, building a hunting lodge that he named Dungeness. Oglethorpe named the place after Dungeness, in England. The next Dungeness was the legacy of Revolutionary War hero Nathanael Greene, who had acquired 11,000 acres (45 km2) of island land in exchange for a bad debt. His widow built a four-story tabby mansion in 1803, over a Timucuan shell mound. During the War of 1812 the island was occupied by the British, who used the house as a headquarters.