Crane Road Trail is a journey through the island’s prosperous past
By Tess Malone
When visitors bicycle across Jekyll Island’s 24 miles of trails, they are riding over a piece of history. One of the island’s oldest routes makes up less than two miles, but its history is decades long. The Crane Bike Path, now known as Crane Road Trail, was first found on maps in the 1920s as part of the famed Jekyll Island Club, but it is now open to everyone.
The bike path honors an iconic resident. Richard Teller Crane Jr. was the second wealthiest man in Chicago in the early 1900s. His fortune came from the Crane Company, a plumbing supply outfit whose hardware was so fancy it created the concept of luxury bathrooms. Crane also had a reputation for his “genial manner and charming personality,” says Andrea Marroquin, curator at the Jekyll Island Museum.
Crane was a natural fit for the exclusive Club’s moneyed and good-humored clientele, and joined in 1911 at the invitation of businessman Cyrus Hall McCormick Jr. Crane was “delighted” with the island, exclaiming in a 1912 letter to McCormick, “It is just the kind of place that suits me, and I hope we can get here every spring.” His wife, Florence Higinbotham Crane, agreed and eventually became a member of the Club herself.
By 1917, the couple built a vacation retreat dubbed the Crane Cottage, though it was a cottage mostly in name only. The magnificent manse had 20 rooms and 17 bathrooms—the largest and most expensive dwelling on the island at the time. While many island inhabitants found it too flashy, the cottage still stands today as part of the Jekyll Island Club Resort, bookable for weddings and large events. Although the house might have been considered gargantuan and gaudy for the time, the Crane family was well-liked across the island for their leadership and donations to the Club. From helping to fund the Great Dunes Golf Course to sponsoring annual tennis tournaments, the Cranes were a crucial part of creating the culture and recreation of the island during its peak Club years from 1886 to 1947.
One of their most enduring legacies is the Crane Bike Path. The 1.65-mile trail runs from the intersection of Stable and Shell Roads to where the Courtyard & Residence Inn is currently located. While now used as a cycling path, a century ago, horses, carriages, and red bugs (open-air buggies) traveled down the trail. “Today, just as it was in the Gilded Age, Crane Road Trail is a scenic journey of discovery into the island’s ecosystems,” says Marroquin. “Whether on bike or on foot, the trail is a pleasant excursion for exploring the island’s diverse habitats.”
To experience everything the path has to offer, go on a Ranger Walk from December through March with Jekyll Island Authority’s conservation department. “This section of bike path is home to some of the most diverse plant and wildlife populations on the island,” says Ray Emerson, the lead park ranger. “It’s an ‘experience’ using all of your senses, including smell and taste.” Expect to see bald eagle nests, but every walk is unique and tailored to guests’ interests. It’s in these walks that the Cranes’ legacy of recreation and exploration lives on.
