# Skidaway Island, Georgia

Skidaway Island is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Chatham County, Georgia, and lies on a barrier island of the same name. Located south of Savannah, Skidaway Island is known for its waterfront properties and golf courses within The Landings, one of the largest gated communities in the country. The population was 9,310 at the 2020 census. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Skidaway Island as a census-designated place (CDP). A separate area of the island hosts the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, a research institution operated by the University of Georgia. It receives scholars and researchers from several other Georgia universities as well, including Georgia Tech, Savannah State University, and the College of Coastal Georgia. Skidaway Island is part of the Savannah Metropolitan Statistical Area.

## History

It is uncertain why the name "Skidaway" was applied to this island. The name may relate to one in Yamacraw or another Native American Creek language. In his 1967 publication How Georgia Got Her Names, Hal E. Brinkley speculated it might be an Anglicized form of Scenawki, the wife of the Yamacraw chief Tomochichi, for whom Georgia's founder James Oglethorpe named the island.
Before the American Civil War, planters farmed on the island using enslaved labor. On January 15, 1965, during the final year of the conflict, U.S. General William T. Sherman issued Special Field Order, No. 15 (series 1865), reallocating plantation lands to some formerly enslaved people, whom he freed pursuant to the Emancipation Proclamation, in plots of land no larger than 40 acres (16 ha). Land records show many such plots issued on Skidmore Island beginning on April 11, 1865, two days after C.S.A. General Robert E. Lee surrendered his Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House, and continuing though that summer and early fall, despite the death of President Abraham Lincoln, and before Georgia's readmission to the Union and resumption of civil authority there. Lincoln's successor, President Andrew Johnson, opposed such transfers, as would various courts, especially since no legislation supported it. During the Reconstruction era federal and state policy emphasized wage labor, not land ownership, for black people. Almost all land allocated during the war was restored to its pre-war white owners.
In a March 2019 referendum, Skidaway Island voters overwhelmingly rejected a bill that would have incorporated their community as the City of Skidaway Island. The island remains unincorporated.

## Geography

Skidaway Island is located at 31°55′39″N 81°2′33″W﻿ / ﻿31.92750°N 81.04250°W﻿ / 31.92750; -81.04250 (31.927434, -81.042505).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 17.9 square miles (46 km$^2$), of which 16.4 square miles (42 km$^2$) is land and 1.5 square miles (3.9 km$^2$) (8.45%) is water.

## Demographics

Skidaway Island was first listed as a CDP in 1980 U.S. Census.
Skidaway Island, Georgia – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race. :
| Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop. 2000 | Pop. 2010 | Pop. 2020 | % 2000 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
| White alone (NH) | 6,703 | 7,954 | 8,605 | 96.95% | 95.36% | 92.43% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 33 | 65 | 97 | 0.48% | 0.78% | 1.04% |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0.01% | 0.08% | 0.00% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 95 | 154 | 184 | 1.37% | 1.85% | 1.98% |
| Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.00% | 0.04% | 0.00% |
| Other race alone (NH) | 3 | 13 | 24 | 0.04% | 0.16% | 0.26% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | 26 | 33 | 193 | 0.38% | 0.40% | 2.07% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 53 | 112 | 207 | 0.77% | 1.34% | 2.22% |
| Total | 6,914 | 8,341 | 9,310 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 9,310 people, 4,272 households, and 3,014 families residing in the CDP.

## Notable people

* Dorothea Orem, nursing theorist, who died at her home on Skidaway Island on June 22, 2007.
* Ron Senkowski, founder of Farmer's Almanac TV.
* Bobby Thomson, baseball player, who died at his home there on August 16, 2010.