CGHS Brunswick Lecture Series 2024

UPDATED SCHEDULED - NOW STARTING OCTOBER 8

Coastal Georgia Historical Society’s Brunswick Lecture Series returns in October, featuring four speakers who will cover a new range of Brunswick-centered historical topics. The series will be held at the College of Coastal Georgia on Tuesdays, October 8, 15, 22, and 29 from 4-5:30 p.m.

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Photo courtesy of Golden Isles Arts and Humanities

City trolley passing Queen Square on Newcastle

The first lecture, now on October 8 will feature Coastal Georgia Historical Society’s Senior Historian Buddy Sullivan. Sullivan will cover the history of Brunswick from the colonial settlement of Georgia to the 20th century, concentrating on the city’s development as a commercial center and seaport. Brunswick’s home front contributions during World War II will be discussed, as well as the commercial seafood industry that developed after the war. Dozens of historical images will celebrate the city’s rich history.

Hector Montford, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of History at the College of Coastal Georgia, will present “God Willing, I’m Going to Brazil: Paul Redfern and the 1927 Brunswick-to-Brazil Flight” on October 15. In August 1927, Redfern took off in his monoplane Port of Brunswick from Sea Island beach, hoping to fly non-stop to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This solo flight would have taken fifty hours and broken Charles Lindbergh’s recent distance record for a non-stop flight by 1,000 miles. Redfern did not complete the journey, and he and his plane were never found. Dr. Montford’s lecture will tie Redfern’s aviation career and his Brunswick connection to larger themes of the national fascination with record-breaking flights during the 1920s and how local city boosters hoped to use the flight publicity to promote their towns.

On October 22, Mason Stewart, a local author and historian will present “Temple Beth Tefilloh: A Historic Synagogue in the Middle of the Bible Belt.” As one of the oldest synagogue structures in America that has been in continuous use since its construction in 1890, Brunswick’s Temple Beth Tefilloh stands as a rare architectural jewel of American Jewish history. The temple’s story will be used as a backdrop to highlight the acculturation of the small group of Jewish immigrants who not only built the historic structure, but also played a significant role in the rebirth of downtown Brunswick following the Civil War. 

The series will conclude on October 29 when Coastal Georgia Historical Society’s Director of Public Programming Allison Dupuis will speak about the Huston House, which was destroyed by fire in July 2024, and its builder, T. L. Huston. In 1927, Colonel Tillinghast L’hommedieu Huston, a former co-owner of the New York Yankees, constructed a home on Butler Island, where he had converted the former rice plantation into a lettuce and dairy farm. Huston soon established himself as part of the local community not only as a home and business owner but as a public figure, eventually serving as president of the Brunswick Board of Trade. His connection to Coastal Georgia was strong enough that, when he died in 1938, his funeral and burial took place in Glynn County. Dupuis’s lecture will draw on the history of Butler Island, the Huston House, and T. L. Huston himself, shedding light on a local landmark that was so recently and tragically lost. 

“Butler Island and the Huston House each have storied, fascinating histories—both together and apart,” said Allison Dupuis. “Coastal Georgia Historical Society is proud to highlight both, especially in the wake of the tragic fire that destroyed the Huston House earlier this year. My contribution to this year’s Brunswick Lecture Series will tell the stories of these locations and their people, along with their connections to Brunswick. T.L. Huston, a onetime co-owner of the New York Yankees, chose to spend his later life here in Coastal Georgia. He transformed Butler Island into a lettuce and dairy farm, became the president of the Brunswick Board of Trade, and kept up his interest in baseball on a more local scale. Brunswick and Coastal Georgia history is full of fascinating stories like that of T.L. Huston, and I’m excited to have the opportunity to share them with our community through the Brunswick Lecture Series.”

The cost for the series is $50, and registration is required. The lectures will be held at the Southeast Georgia Conference Center, located on the campus of the College of Coastal Georgia. To register, visit coastalgeorgiahistory.org.