Soaking it all in

 Originally published in 2009. Most of the exotics are no longer on the Island, except the Lemurs. In the interior of St. Catherines Island, deer roam freely and wild hogs jog playfully throughout the woods. Suddenly, in the distance you hear a sound definitely not native to the area. A group of ring-tailed lemurs hang from the trees or a small herd of African Jackson hartebeest prance by. You might even glimpse an exotic great hornbill bird. You’re in the sanctuary of St. Catherines Wildlife Survival Center. When Lifesaver candy creator John Edward Noble purchased the island in 1943, he brought a herd of Angus cattle and allowed them to graze the fields once used to grow corn, rice and cotton. After Noble died in 1958 his foundation worked with the Wildlife Conservation Society to turn part of the island into a research and breeding station for rare mammals and birds. The St. Catherines Island Wildlife Survival Center is now a last resort for endangered species of birds and animal...

  Since the ruins of the Santa  Catalina de Guale Spanish mission on St. Catherines Island were discovered in the 1980s, countless artifcats have been unearthed In the early 1980s American Museum of Natural History archeologist David Hurst-Thomas found the ruins of the Spanish mission, Santa Catalina de Guale, on the western side of St. Catherines Island. Unearthing the mission provided evidence the Spaniards had made it to the New World centuries before the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock. It also provided a glimpse of the Guale Indian tribe believed to be among the first settlers on the coastal island since it formed roughly 5,000 years ago. On May 15, amid torrential rain, the  Courier  got to tour St. Catherines Island, including a visit to the mission site led by Anna Semon, lab director for the North American Archeology Division of Anthropology for the AMNH. She is also the excavation crew chief for the archeological projects on the island. "There was a chain ...

  St. Catherines Island is home to pristine beaches, lush greenery and countless wild animal species, but its  mysterious interior holds clues about cultures and  civilizations believed to have existed thousands of years ago. Originally published in 2009 Roughly 50 miles south of Savannah, deep in the marshes of Liberty County, lies St. Catherines Island. The unspoiled island boasts a complex history and was designated as a National Historic Landmark on Dec. 16, 1969. Currently owned by the St. Catherines Island Foundation, the island boasts 14,640 acres of tidal marsh and wetlands, 6,700 acres of forested land, endangered exotic wildlife, and a plantation home reportedly once used by Button Gwinnett. But, more importantly, it’s the site where several important archeological artifacts were unearthed, proving Spaniards discovered the area centuries before Europeans landed on Plymouth Rock. For more than 30 years, researchers and archeologist from New York’s American Museum...