Jekyll Island, at 5,700 acres, is the smallest of Georgia's barrier islands. The island is located in Glynn County, just southeast of the city of Brunswick, south of St. Simons Island, and north of Cumberland Island. The western side of Jekyll Island is fronted by Jekyll Creek and salt marsh, and the eastern edge of the island is defined by its beach and the Atlantic Ocean. The natural environment of Jekyll Island is a magnolia–live oak forest canopy with a forest floor dominated by palmetto and scrub oak. Animals found on the island include white-tailed deer, raccoons, rabbits, and squirrels. The tidal creeks and streams of the salt marsh provide a variety of resources, including seasonal fish and shellfish. Jekyll Island has a diverse and significant history. The first occupants of the island were probably small groups of Native American hunter-gatherers, some time around 2,500 B.C. These groups appear to have been composed of small family units that probably settled on Jekyll on a seasonal basis. They produced fiber-tempered pottery vessels and lived on the abundant natural resources of the area. Archaeological evidence suggests that Jekyll seems not to have supported a long-term permanent settlement by any aboriginal peoples, even though by 1000 B.C. Georgia's coastal natives had begun to collect in settlements with less seasonal migration and larger population numbers. As Native American culture advanced, little changed on Jekyll Island. By A.D. 1540 the Georgia coast had become populated by the Guale Indians. The Guale extended from St. Catherines Island south to Jekyll Island, where they gave way to the Timucuan groups to the south. The first European occupation of Jekyll Island may have taken place during the late sixteenth century. During that period a chain of Spanish missions was established along the Georgia coast. The Spanish name for Jekyll was Isla de Ballenas, "Island of Whales," because of the abundance of right whales off the island in the Gray's Reef area. Although there is no evidence of the establishment of a mission on Jekyll Island, archaeological studies have shown a definable occupation by Native Americans during the period. There is strong archival evidence that the Spanish at least explored and had contact with native peoples on Jekyll during this period. The year 1735 was a watershed moment for Jekyll Island. In 1733 James Oglethorpe and the passengers aboard the Anne had established the English colony of Georgia on Yamacraw Bluff, in present-day Savannah. The colony began to grow quickly, and an immediate conflict developed with the Spanish colony of Florida to the south. Feeling that the propriety and well-being of his colonists were being threatened, Oglethorpe began recruiting men from England to serve as soldiers in Georgia's defense. William Horton was one of the men who believed this adventure would suit him. Horton sailed for Georgia with other recruits and arrived in Savannah in February 1736. Oglethorpe quickly dispatched Horton and thirty other recruits to St. Simons Island to construct the town and defenses at Frederica. Under the leadership of Oglethorpe, Frederica began to take form. Horton was a key player in these events and eventually was promoted to the rank of major and was placed in command of the troops garrisoned in the area. Horton was granted 500 acres of land by the Trustees of the colony, and in April 1736 he set out from Frederica to the neighboring island of Jekyll to stake his claim. Jekyll had been named in honor of Sir Joseph Jekyll, a supporter of Oglethorpe's efforts to establish the colony of Georgia. By 1737 Horton had established residency on Jekyll and began raising cattle. He died in 1748; the remains of his house, built of tabby, are among the oldest structures in Georgia. Over the next forty years, Jekyll had a number of owners, including Raymond Demere, Clement Martin, and Richard Leake. In 1792 it was purchased by the Sapelo Company, which was made up of four French landowners, among them Christophe Poulain DuBignon. By 1800 the island was completely owned by DuBignon. He and his descendants were the principal owners of the island until 1886, with agriculture as the primary activity on the island. Although the U.S. government had banned the importation of slaves in 1808, the smuggling of slaves continued. On November 29, 1858, during a storm, the Wanderer, owned by Savannah businessman Charles Lamar, unloaded its cargo of 409 slaves on Jekyll. This was one of the last cargoes of slaves imported into the United States.