• Index to Homes

Major William Horton of Jekyll Island

Horton House, ruins. William Horton was the subsheriff of Herefordshire, England before coming to Georgia in 1736. He was the single most trusted person by General Oglethorpe, and was left in charge of the affairs of the colony as well as commander of the regiment while Oglethorpe was in England. He built his home and a brewery on Jekyll Island, and during the drought of 1738 which caused hardship and starvation, he sailed to Jekyll and brought kegs of beer to Frederica for the soldiers.

The ruins of his home are intact, with a walled cemetery directly across from the house and adjacent to Horton's Creek. In 1736, while he was serving as commander o f the militia in Frederica, he was captured by the Spanish, but escaped. In 1738, he was one of the trustees responsible for the distribution of 3,000 acres. He also owned 300 acres in Frederica, and was perceived as a gentleman, entertaining on both Jekyll Island and Frederica. When he died in 1748, the french family of Du Bignon took over his plantation and resided there for many long years thereafter.