Myrtle Island is a quaint area located in Bluffton. When you cross onto the island, it is like taking a step back in time, with lush vegetation blending harmoniously with the stunning views of the May River. This quiet, serene neighborhood lends itself to an unhurried lifestyle, one where neighbors become lifelong friends. The history of Myrtle Island is as rich and exciting as its scenery.
Myrtle Island was once used solely for agriculture and oystering. The middle portion of the island was completely used as farm land and there was a small oyster factory on the northwest section. The land was fertile and provided abundant crops. The only way onto the island was by a “mule wagon road” during low tide, which made for slow travel.
Originally, Myrtle Island was known as Beef Island. It was so named to complement the surrounding islands of Bull, Potato, and Corn, all also located along the May River. The locals really enjoyed the looks on visitors faces when they explained the names of the different islands.
Around 1926, Percival “Mr. Percy” Huger decided to develop Beef Island. The name was changed to Myrtle Island because everyone involved agreed it would be easier to sell property on Myrtle Island than Beef Island.
Mr. Percy worked with a man named Jake Johnson to build the Myrtle Island causeway and a wooden bridge. Along the way, they recruited some other folks to assist them. Mr. Percy gave Johnson a mule and a wagon as payment for helping him. The causeway was built almost solely by hand, with wheelbarrows and the mule pulling dirt in a sled. The construction was similar to that of a rice field bank. Mr. Percy grew up on a rice plantation, and this influenced his design and construction ideas for Mrytle Island. The causeway proved to be problematic due to stress created by the tides and threatening tropical weather systems. After a while, the state decided to work on the causeway, bringing it up to its present height and width. The bridge was also reinforced with a metal understructure.
The road leading to Myrtle Island and onto All Joy Road was composed of crushed oyster shells from Lowden’s Oyster Factory. Leaving Bluffton, it curved south to run along Kirk’s Bluff, which was once known as “The Rocks” – so named because there was a gigantic outcropping of at least one mile of sandstone rocks stretching to Nanny Cove. This area could be accessed by crossing a wooden bridge.
The road of Myrtle Island proper was planned as an avenue with a plant down the middle. The left side of this avenue was widened and paved. The right side was left in more of a natural state. A triangular bit of land near the middle portion of the island was set aside to be a park, later to be known as Huger Park, after Mr. Percy Huger. Legend has it that a narrow road past the park led to “Possum Point,” a rendezvous spot “back in the day.”
Mr. Percy began selling lots on Myrtle Island in 1926 and the first house constructed was built by Dan Hull of Savannah. It was completed in 1928 and was called “Mayfair.” It didn’t take long for word to spread about the beauty and value of Myrtle Island. Soon, many other people decided to invest in Myrtle Island.
Myrtle Island had electricity in 1926, which was much earlier than most of the rest of Bluffton. A building near the central portion of the island contained a Delco generator. Anyone in any of the homes could start the generator simply by turning on a light. It took around thirty seconds for the Delco to “rev” up enough power for the light to come on. Once one light was on, all the other lights would come on at once. There were no electric clocks, radios, or other types of electric appliances on Myrtle Island back during the early days. A few people had electric fans that ran on DC currents. A water pump was located in the same building which housed the Delco generator. The water was stored in a huge tank, which held between two and three thousand gallons, and stood about three stories high. The tank was located next to the pump house. Jake Johnson would bring his mule wagon in from Bluffton every day or two so he could pump the tank full of water. This way, all of the homes on Mrytle Island had water.
By the 1940s, Mr. Percy sold the last lots on Myrtle Island. By then, the old Delco service was no longer needed, and residents could have their own wells with electric pumps. Modern conveniences met with timeless beauty to become the modern version of Myrtle Island and, over the decades, the natural beauty of Myrtle Island has only grown more beautiful.
Today, Mr. Percy’s nephew, Dr. J. Moultrie Lee, and his wife, Jeanne, live in the home Dr. Lee’s father built in 1928. Dr. Lee’s mother was Mr. Percy’s sister, and she was given her choice of lots on Myrtle Island. Dr. and Mrs. Lee happily moved here after Dr. Lee retired in 1986. Until then, they visited Myrtle Island on the weekends when Dr. Lee wasn’t on call in Savannah.
Jeanne Lee says she loves the area and her neighbors. She and Dr. Lee consider it a blessing to live on Myrtle Island. And, the fact that so much history is a part of their neighborhood and their lives, makes it a wonderful gift to share with others.
