Grover Island

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Grover Island is an island near the mouth of the Crooked River in Camden County, Georgia. It has more than 400 acres of forest and about 1,600 acres of connected salt marsh and small waterways, and sits roughly four miles west of Cumberland Island National Seashore.

It is known for being the site of the United States’ first national forest preserve. In 1799, President John Adams ordered Grover Island to be bought to protect live oak timber used for ships, like the USS Constitution. This made Grover Island one of the earliest lands set aside by the federal government for conservation, even before the creation of national parks and other preserves.

In 1926, the island was sold into private hands. Today it is a mature maritime forest dominated by live oaks, though its forests are shrinking due to coastal development and forestry practices. The island provides habitat for wildlife, including the endangered wood stork and many birds such as ospreys that nest there. It also contains archaeological sites dating back centuries before Europeans arrived.