The Cumberland Island National Seashore museum is dedicated to preserving the island’s primitive character, natural processes and the natural, cultural, historic, and wilderness resources. We accomplish this while offering visitors a feeling of isolation and wonder, and an opportunity to understand, learn about, and appreciate the island paradise.

The park's museum is open Wednesday through Sunday from 1:00pm to 4:00pm. and is staffed by our Cumberland Island National Seashore volunteers. 

Without the help of our volunteers, we would not be able to present this museum to the public in all its glory. Therefore the National Park Service owes our volunteers a debt of gratitude and would like to take this opportunity to encourage anyone who is interested in Cumberland Island to get involved as a volunteer.

This page is meant to give you, the visitor, a sample of what you will see and learn about when visiting our park's museum. But don't take our word for it, come and see it for yourself.

Hunting and Gathering (Time of the Timucuans)

The Timucua (Ti-MOO-qua) refers to all the Native Americans in Southeastern Georgia and Northeastern Florida who spoke the Timucua language. This was a matrilineal society, meaning that close relatives were traced through the mother’s family. They referred to their close relatives as a clan.

Agricultural (Plantation Era)

The Revolutionary War heron General Nathaniel Greene and his wife Catherine (Caty) Greene settled here and built the first Dungeness. They were joined at Cumberland Island by Eli Whitney. Eli and Nathaniel tried unsuccessfully to market the cotton gin. Caty married Phineas Miller after the death of Nathaniel. Much of the island passed from the Greene-Miller descendants in the early 1800s to Robert Stafford. Stafford developed extensive cotton plantations on the island.

The Gilded Age

With the death of Robert Stafford in the latter part of the 19th. century, Thomas and Lucy Carnegie bought extensively on the island. The Carnegies built the present Dungeness on the ruins of the Greene-Miller Dungeness. Following the early and untimely death of Thomas in 1886, Lucy remained at Dungeness. She nuilt and acquired homes for the children on an estate that eventually covered 90% of the island. A number of the original Carnegie house furnishings, carriages and photos are on display at the museum.

Forgotten Invasion

A separate museum room contains a series of displays about the War of 1812. The last skirmishes of the War of 1812 took place on Cumberland Island, St. Marys, and the fortified position of Point Peter. Point Peter guarded the approaches to the city of St. Marys. A portrayal of the conditions leading up to the war and a synopsis of the war are found in this room. There is also a video giving an summary of the war as well as many artifacts that have been recently unearthed at Point Peter.