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Major William Horton: Born in England; Came to Georgia in 1736; Died in Savannah in 1748

Major William Horton: Born in England; Came to Georgia in 1736; Died in Savannah in 1748 is a Georgia historical marker in Glynn County, dedicated 1956.

On Riverview Drive near Major Horton Drive on Jekyll Island.

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These are the remains of Horton's tabby house. Major Horton of Oglethorpe's Regiment, the first English resident of Jekyll Island, erected on the north end of Jekyll a two-story dwelling and large barn. He cleared fields here for cultivation of crops which supplied the settlers at Frederica on St. Simons Island, a neighboring island, who would have suffered except for this assistance. Major Horton cut a road across the north end of Jekyll, running east and west, from this tabby house to the beach. This road is still known as the Horton Road. Major Horton was a trusted officer chosen by James Oglethorpe for important missions. Upon Oglethorpe's final return to England in 1743, Major Horton succeeded him as commander of the military forces of the Colony of Georgia. Poulain du Bignon, owner of Jekyll Island after the Revolutionary War, repaired the Horton tabby house and made it his home. As the du Bignon family grew, wooden wings were added to the house.

Maps this old were drawn largely by eye, so places on them can sit miles from where they really are. The pin is ours and marks the marker's location today.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1746 · A Map of the British Empire in America. (Sheet 10). (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1764 · Carte de la Nouvelle Georgie (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1776 · A General Map of the Southern British Colonies, in America. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1778 · Parte Orientale della Florida, della Giorgia, e Carolina Meridionale. Fogl. XI (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1852 · Georgia, Florida. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

A Map of the British Empire in America. (Sheet 10), 1746, covering the location of Major William Horton: Born in England; Came to Georgia in 1736; Died in Savannah in 1748, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — A Map of the British Empire in America. (Sheet 10), 1746, covering this location. David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries. The pin is ours, placed from the marker's coordinates.

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This historical marker is part of the Georgia Historical Marker Program and was erected by the Georgia Historical Commission. Marker texts and locations come from the Society's own marker database.

More markers nearby

Tabbysame spot
Le Sieur Christophe Anne Poulain Du Bignon (1739- 1825): Horton - Du Bignon House Du Bignon Burial Groundsame spot
Poulain Du Bignon and Du Bignon Burying Groundunder 1 mi
The Spanish on Jekyll Islandunder 1 mi

On the National Register nearby

Horton-duBignon House130 ft

Places within about 300 feet of this marker that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A nearby listing is not always the marker's own subject.