Sutherland's Bluff

Sutherland's Bluff, about 1.5 miles South on this road, overlooks the Sapelo River and the Inland Waterway. the site was named for Lieut. Patrick Sutherland, to whom it was granted, upon recommendation of General James Edward Oglethorpe, in recognition of that Lieutenant's service at the Battle of Bloody Marsh. At the beginning of the Revolutionary war, a shipyard was laid out at Sutherland's Bluff, moulds were made at Philadelphia, and liveoak timbers were cut at the Bluff for the building of gunboats and four frigates for the Continental Navy. the British blockade of 1778 prevented the completion of the work. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Sutherland's Bluff was a regular stop for ships sailing the Inland Waterway, and a store and livery stable kept there for the convenience of outfitting passengers disembarking for overland travel. In 1954, archaeological investigations disclosed evidence of ancient Indian and Spanish occupation of the bluff.