In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Jekyll Island was very isolated from St. Simons and Brunswick, and because of that isolation the du Bignon family, like earlier owners such as William Horton, was largely self-sufficient. The tabby ruins along the marsh and a brick-lined well are surviving traces of an extensive plantation that operated on the island for more than a hundred years. Although most of its buildings have been lost or concealed underground, documentary evidence and archaeological investigations show a flourishing plantation with wooden barns and malt houses, stables, an overseer's home, slave quarters, and other outbuildings. During the du Bignon family's time on the island, other families also rented land and lived there, making Jekyll Island an isolated but thriving community. Interest in preserving the site began in 1898, and personal letters, census and tax records, and archaeological work have helped identify what is missing and estimate the locations of features such as the du Bignon family's kitchen and slave quarters.
