History of White Oak Plantation White Oak Conservation

a cheetah runs behind remnants of building kingsley era @ white oak plantation.

the earliest recorded history of white oak plantation dates april 16, 1768, when british governor of florida gave land along st. marys river through land grant andrew way, deputy surveyor of lands. 3 years later, jermyn wright, recipient of land grant on st. marys, purchased way s property.

the plantation produced timber , home food stores naval vessels using river. after removing stands of cypress property s swampy areas, wright began cultivate rice, establishing southern-most rice plantation on atlantic coast.

by 1833, zephaniah kingsley, pre-civil war agricultural baron, had become plantation s owner. in 1842, white oak plantation purchased abraham bessent, shopkeeper in nearby st. marys, georgia. sale included extensive machinery , 118 slaves, 109 names recorded on deed.

before american civil war, white oak had 350 acres of rice paddies in cultivation. today, abandoned paddies still visible, , remnants of building kingsley era still stand in cheetah enclosure. during civil war, planters left rice plantations , permanently relocated summer estates. probable plantation abandoned @ time.

isaac gilman stands wife. name , date of photo unknown.

the gilman family acquired property in late 1930s. isaac gilman grew humble beginnings, peddling in manhattan in 1880s after emigrating europe. saved up, , in 1907, purchased struggling paper company in vermont, renamed gilman paper company in 1921.

gilman handed off business son, charles, in 1939 moved 7,400-acre white oak site acquired year earlier , constructed large paper operation. features included timber production; breeding, raising , training of horses; , recreational programs helped market company, became largest private paper business in country.

charles gilman died in 1967, leaving sons chris , howard run president , senior officer, respectively. chris died in 1982, making howard sole owner. howard gilman began spearhead additions white oak property, investing $154 million build baryshnikov dance studio, conference center, nine-hole golf course, , expansive enclosures , buildings raise, breed, rehabilitate , study threatened , endangered species. (white oak had animals, roan antelope, before 1982, year center officially became white oak conservation center.) outside of white oak, gilman made large contributions metropolitan museum of art , brooklyn academy of music.

starting in 1993, howard gilman foundation hosted variety of national , international conferences , seminars @ white oak directly related 3 fields of interest: arts , culture, conservation , environment, , public policy. foundation—created gilman in 1981 support arts , wildlife—owned white oak following howard gilman s death in 1998 until march 2013.

in march 2013, white oak purchased mark , kimbra walter. walters conservationists support wildlife programs across north america. white oak operations , facilities managed white oak conservation holdings llc, walters established purpose.