From a discussion with Bernie Huber 11/4/2008

 I was talking with Bernie Huber, Maintenance Volunteer National Park Service.  He told me that last year, he was looking through some Cumberland Island artifacts and found some boles of Sea Island Cotton.  Asking permission, he took 2 of the boles and obtained the seeds from them – about 6 seeds.

 Planting the seeds at his home, he raised enough plants to give 200 seeds to the National Park Service.  According to Bernie, the Park Service is going to plant the seed near Dungeness this spring so that people can see actual Sea Island Cotton for the first time on Cumberland Island in about 100 years.

History of Sea Island Cotton:

From Forbes Facts:

Sea Island cotton is the most luxurious type of cotton; it is even finer and stronger than Egyptian cotton.

From The History Workshop

The first major planters on Cumberland Island were Catherine and Phineas Miller. They built a large mansion called Dungeness on the southern end of the island

From The Sherpa Guide

During the late 1700s and early 1800s, coastal plantations made agricultural history. From Sapelo and St. Simons on down to Cumberland, island fields were white with cotton. Even Ossabaw turned over its profitable indigo fields to the growth of Sea Island cotton upon learning it demanded up to twice the fee for ordinary cotton in markets throughout the world. Crops of Sea Island cotton brought many plantation owners up to $100,000 per year.

Additional Links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_Island_Cotton

http://www.csaadmin.com/stoney_baynard.htm