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
into the trees of St.
Simons Island and
62 | @hightidestsimons
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.
These are a few of the
beautiful faces to look for and
here’s a few hints for places to
look:
• 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 DemereRoad 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.