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Reminders of History - How Oatland’s History is Honored Today

Writer's picture: Kaitlyn SchefflerKaitlyn Scheffler
Feb 193 min read

As we look to the past tomorrow with Oatland’s Cabin Fever event, we thought that it would be a great opportunity to remember the history of Oatland Island! Friends of Oatland Island is constantly working to acknowledge and honor the history of our wonderful Island.


Cotton plantation

From the late 18th to mid-19th centuries, the island was part of a cotton plantation and was cleared for farmland. The McQueen family owned the island, and John McQueen was a Revolutionary War soldier and land speculator. 


Railroad Retirement home

In 1927, the Order of Railway Conductors purchased the island to build a retirement home for its members which functioned until the 40’s. Today, you may notice a play structure in front of the building to honor this history! 





Hospital and laboratory

The conductor's home was converted to a research hospital for women and children with syphilis. The hospital closed a few years later, in 1945, after penicillin became available (and cured the patients!).


Later that year, the ownership of the property was transferred to a different branch of the Public Health Service, the Malaria Control in War Areas (MCWA) division, who converted the building into their Technical Development Laboratory. A year later, in 1946, the MCWA changed its name to the Communicable Disease Center (now known as the Center for Disease Control or the CDC). At the Oatland lab, the CDC studied insect and airborne diseases, methods of mosquito control, and the use of DDT as a pesticide. The "No-Pest Strip" was invented at the lab, which later led to the development of the flea collar.


This historic image from 1946, depicted what was the United States Public Health Service (USPHS), Communicable Disease Center (CDC), Field Station, located in Savannah, Georgia. In this view, you can see three of the staff laboratorians, inside one of the facility’s chemistry laboratories, as they were in the process of conducting scientific tests. The laboratorian in the center was pipetting a fluid into a hand-held test tube, while the technician at far left was pouring a liquid into an unseen receptacle. The technician in the rear was setting up a number of pieces of laboratory glassware, creating what looked to be a distillation apparatus.
This historic image from 1946, depicted what was the United States Public Health Service (USPHS), Communicable Disease Center (CDC), Field Station, located in Savannah, Georgia. In this view, you can see three of the staff laboratorians, inside one of the facility’s chemistry laboratories, as they were in the process of conducting scientific tests. The laboratorian in the center was pipetting a fluid into a hand-held test tube, while the technician at far left was pouring a liquid into an unseen receptacle. The technician in the rear was setting up a number of pieces of laboratory glassware, creating what looked to be a distillation apparatus.

A laboratory technician at the CDC Field Station in Savannah pours a water sample containing both mosquito larvae and pupae into a pupal separator, which was used to separate these two stages of development. | Public Health Image Library
A laboratory technician at the CDC Field Station in Savannah pours a water sample containing both mosquito larvae and pupae into a pupal separator, which was used to separate these two stages of development. | Public Health Image Library


Wildlife Center

In 1973, the CDC moved the Technical Development Laboratory to its headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia and Oatland was taken over by the Savannah-Chatham County school system. In 1974, the Oatland Island Wildlife Center was founded on the island. The center has over 100 acres of maritime forest and is home to many wonderful species of wildlife and as you all know just celebrated FIFTY years as a Wildlife Education Center! 


Oatland Island Educational Institute Sept. 29, 1974 Nancy Heffernan/savannahnow.com
Oatland Island Educational Institute Sept. 29, 1974 Nancy Heffernan/savannahnow.com

Oatland Island Educational Institute Sept. 29, 1974 Nancy Heffernan/savannahnow.com
Oatland Island Educational Institute Sept. 29, 1974 Nancy Heffernan/savannahnow.com

Filming location

The island has been used as a filming location for several movies and TV shows, including Emperor (2020), Love to the Rescue (2019), Poison Rose (2019), Underground Season 2 (2017), Abe Lincoln vs Zombies (2012), The General's Daughter (1999), and Return of Swamp Thing (1989). 




Oatland Island has a long history and we are honored to be a part of it. Come visit tomorrow for our Cabin Fever event and get a glimpse into the past!


Saturday, February 22nd 10am-2pm

Have you ever wondered what life was like before the lightbulb? Join us as we discover what it was like in the 1800s at Oatland Island Wildlife Center! Activities may include Candle Making, Open Fire Cooking, Games, Music Demonstration, and Rope Making.




 
 
 

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