St. Simons Island Treasure Hunting
Tree Spirits of St. Simons
As you ride
around St. Simons
island, look closely
at our majestic oak
trees. You may be
surprised to see
one of them
looking back at
you. What’s that, you ask? Yes,
there are tree Spirits on St.
Simons Island!
The Tree Spirit, also known
as Wood Spirit, Tree Troll,
Wood Dryad and other names,
is a vivid and powerful
character and enjoys a long
and noble history. From Greek
mythology to
fairy tales
to the
stories of
Native
Americans, they are
common to folklore, in
different forms, in
almost every culture
on earth. He
is said to be Lord of
the Forest and all
things natural.
There are over 20
Tree Spirits engraved
74 | @hightidestsimons
into the trees of
St. Simons Island
and while some
are on private
property many
are in public
spaces waiting to
be discovered.
The
carvings are a creation of
woodworker Keith Jennings
who started the project in the
early 1980s.
While some believe that
the Tree Spirits of St. Simons
Island immortalize the spirits
of sailors lost at sea or soldiers
killed long ago in the Island’s
dense forests, Keith says it
isn’t so. According to him each
tree has its own spirit waiting
to be unleashed. His work is
to find and release.
Here are a few of the
beautiful faces to hunt, and here are hints for
hiding places:
• Golden Isles Welcome Center
529 Beachview Drive
• Mallery Park baseball field on Park Ave
• Mallery Park basketball court - Park Ave
• On Mallery Street next to Murphy’s
Tavern in the Pier Village
• On Demere Road at Skylane Drive
• In Redfern Village across from Gnat’s
• Gascoigne Bluff Park - along the dirt road
beside the river, near picnic area
• At 3305 Frederica Road in front of
Anderson Fine Art Gallery.