NPS Director Fran Mainella, Congressman Jack Kingston, R-GA, and St. Marys Mayor Deborah Hase were welcomed to the formal dedication of the new Cumberland Island National Seashore Visitor Center by Superintendent Jerre Brumbelow on June 2, 2005. The Visitor Center is located on the waterfront in St. Marys, Georgia.

NPS Director Fran Mainella spoke to a large crowd and thanked the Superintendent and park staff. She also welcomed the Mayor of St. Marys and Congressman Jack Kingston, who was the first to break the ground on November 10, 2003, for this 8100-square foot structure.

Brumbelow said that “after 33 years in a temporary facility that once served as the old Miller dock, Cumberland Island National Seashore now has a visitor center that meets the standards of the National Park Service. The new visitor facility, and its landscaping, nicely compliment the beauty of the St. Marys waterfront. “The walkways and landscaping surrounding the new building blend aesthetically with the adjacent Howard Gilman Memorial Waterfront Park,” he said. A gazebo near the ferry dock is modeled after one in the city park and simulates a sense of continuity along the waterfront.

Signs are placed along the brick and tabby walkways, depicting both the natural and cultural resources of the island, pertinent safety messages for the visitors, answers to frequently asked questions as well as maps to orient the visitor. People with insufficient time to visit the island will now be able to experience the flavor of the island through new exhibits in the visitor center. The exhibits depict glimpses back in time to the Carnegie’s family life at the turn of the twentieth century. One display case contains a wooden tennis racket, cosmetics and photographs of the Carnegie family when they resided at Dungeness Mansion.

Other exhibits tell a story of the Timucuan Indians, the life in saltwater marshes surrounding the island, the primary and secondary dune systems, the barrier ecosystem including the marine life, and the maritime forest areas of the island. One of the most popular displays among tourists is one that shows a cutaway view of a nest of loggerhead turtles during hatching.

In addition, the center provides a new home for book sales by the park’s cooperating association, Eastern National.

Mainella is the 16th director and the first woman to lead the National Park Service. Appointed by President George W. Bush in 2001, and confirmed by the Senate, she has more than forty years experience in park and recreation management. She does her work alongside 20,000 employees and more than 140,000 volunteers.

Congressman Kingston has served Georgia’s First District for the past twelve years and is now in his seventh term in the U.S. House of Representatives. As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, he has been instrumental in obtaining financial support for Cumberland Island. The new visitor center is only one of many projects that Representative Kingston has championed for the park. He has also helped to secure funding for Plum Orchard Mansion, the Historic Chimneys, Dungeness Ruins, and the Bachlott House.