Jewtown, Georgia Explained

Official Name:Jewtown, Georgia
Settlement Type:Unincorporated community
Pushpin Map:USA Georgia#USA
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:United States
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:Georgia
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Glynn
Timezone:Eastern (EST)
Utc Offset:-5
Timezone Dst:EDT
Utc Offset Dst:-4
Coordinates:31.1622°N -81.3968°W
Area Code:912
Blank Name:GNIS feature ID
Blank Info:332100

Jewtown is an unincorporated community on St. Simons Island in Glynn County, Georgia, United States.

History

Jewtown was one of three historic African American communities on Saint Simons settled after the Civil War by emancipated slaves.[1]

The town got its name from the presence of a store established by Jewish members of the Levison family in the 1880s.[2] [3] A variant name for the town was "Levisonton".[4] After the Civil War Anson Dodge and the Georgia Land and Lumber Company of New York purchased the Hamilton Plantation at Gascoigne Bluff in 1875 to build lumber mills to take advantage of strong global demand. Sig and Robert (Bob) Levison of nearby Brunswick built a general merchandise store about a mile east of the mills.[5] The store was closed in 1921.

Notes and References

  1. Roberts, Amy, and Patrick Halliday (2019). Gullah Geechee Heritage in the Golden Isles. Charlestown, SC: The History Press. .
  2. Book: Doster, Stephen M. G.. Voices from St. Simons: Personal Narratives of an Island's Past. 2008. John F. Blair. 978-0-89587-481-8. 145.
  3. Web site: From Negro Creek to Wop Draw, place names offend . . February 26, 2012 . 6 September 2014 . Fonesca, Felicia . Cone, Tracie .
  4. Book: Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins . Winship Press . Krakow, Kenneth K. . 1975 . Macon, GA . 121 . 0-915430-00-2.
  5. Staff writer (Mar. 2018). "How an Island Neighborhood Got its Name." Elegant Island Living. p. 122.