Three wealthy men dominate the history of Sapelo Island. In the early nineteenth century, Thomas Spalding purchased the island and developed it into a cotton, corn and sugar cane plantation. He brought 400 slaves to work on the plantation from West Africa and the West Indies, and build what would become the Spalding Mansion. Spalding died in 1851, and during the Civil War his mansion was vandalized and lay in ruins. His freed slaves established settlements on the island, including Hog Hammock. The next wealthy owner of the island was Howard Coffin, founder of the Hudson Motor Company. He purchased the entire island, except for the land owned by former slaves, for $150,000 in 1912. Coffin renovated and enlarged the Spalding house, creating an island paradise and drawing such guests as presidents Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover, as well as aviator Charles Lindbergh. The third owner of this mansion was tobacco tycoon R.J. Reynolds. He purchased Sapelo in 1933 and used this mansion as a part time residence for the next thirty years. Reynolds funded ecological research on the island, and his widow sold Sapelo to the state of Georgia in the early 70s. The mansion is now used as a lavish vacation center for groups of at least 16 people. The extravagant fountain that dominates the entrance to the mansion was partially drained when I made this photograph. I play with color here, featuring vertical bands of blues and greens, rising from the bottom of the image to the top, echoing the graceful gesture of the fountain’s sculpture as it reaches upwards through light and shadow.