Interview with Craig Barrow, May 13, 2015

Partial Transcript: Would you mind giving us your full name and where and when you were born?

Segment Synopsis: Barrow talks about being the ninth generation of his family to own Wormsloe. He describes visiting his grandmother, Elfrida De Renne Barrow, at Wormsloe when he was a child. He discusses his family's sense of stewardship over the land and their devotion to preserving the property. He talks about how Wormsloe's collection became the foundation of the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library at the University of Georgia.

Keywords: Elfrida De Renne Barrow; Georgia General Assembly; Noble Jones; Wymberley Wormsloe De Renne; bankruptcy; education; environmental preservation

Partial Transcript: Let me give you a little help with that.

Segment Synopsis: Barrow describes how the Wormsloe Foundation was created by his grandmother in 1951 to preserve Wormsloe. He talks about how the foundation faced many difficulties, including losing its tax exempt status. Barrow discusses how Wormsloe became the first historic site in Georgia preserved through the Georgia Heritage Trust Act. Barrow also describes fighting against Chatham County's plan to build a highway through Wormsloe's marsh.

Keywords: Georgia Supreme Court; Jane Hurt Yarn; The Georgia Heritage Trust Act of 1975 (O.C.G.A. 12-3-70); The Nature Conservancy Georgia; University of Georgia; eminent domain; environmental preservation; historic preservation

Partial Transcript: Back to the foundation..

Segment Synopsis: Barrow describes the Wormsloe Foundation's relationship with the University of Georgia. He talks about early research on the property by UGA professors and students. He discusses how his ancestors changed Wormsloe, describing renovations to the house and the addition and removal of gardens. Barrow also describes his own education. He talks about how the Wormsloe Foundation ceded land to the state and became officially open for research.

Keywords: Augusta Floyd De Renne; Elfrida De Renne Barrow; Frank Jenkins; Hubert Bond Owens; University of Georgia Press; William M. Kelso; archeology; education; garden tours; landscape architecture; scientific research

Partial Transcript: When did Elfrida pass?

Segment Synopsis: Barrow talks about the death of his grandmother followed shortly by the death of his father. He describes his father's life and discusses his work to preserve Wormsloe. Barrow discusses the differences between his father's stewardship of Wormsloe and his own, describing how his father focused on primitive grounds and avoided heavy machinery.

Keywords: Craig Barrow, Jr.; Elfrida De Renne Barrow; Laura Palmer Bell Barrow; Nobel Jones; family; landscaping

Partial Transcript: This period from before your father's death...

Segment Synopsis: Barrow discusses how the government has repeatedly tried to build roads through Wormsloe. He talks about the local government plan to build a highway through Wormsloe's historic oak avenue. He discusses his grandmother's understanding of the threat of development to Wormsloe and her attempts to preserve it.

Keywords: Diamond Causeway; Elfrida De Renne Barrow; Julius Curtis Lewis Jr.; Skidaway Island; Wymberley Wormsloe De Renne; eminent domain; infrastructure

Partial Transcript: I mean I didn't expect my father to drop dead in 1978.

Segment Synopsis: Barrow talks about his father's sudden and unexpected death. He describes how he suddenly became the steward of Wormsloe at age 38. He talks about moving to the property and managing the land.

Keywords: Craig Barrow, Jr.; Frank Jenkins; Laura Palmer Bell Barrow; family; heart attack

Partial Transcript: So what does taking care--so at this point, what does that entail?

Segment Synopsis: Barrow describes his attempts to preserve and improve Wormsloe. He talks about how he is legally in charge of 65 acres but takes care of the entire property. He discusses the importance of loving the land instead of feeling burdened by its history. He talks about the threat of rising sea levels to Wormsloe and his future plans for the site.

Keywords: Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR); Mary Ellen Brooks; University of Georgia; Wormsloe Foundation; environmental stewardship; sea level rise

Partial Transcript: Lets talk a little bit about Wormsloe's relationship with UGA.

Segment Synopsis: Barrow describes the importance of his family's collection to the University of Georgia libraries. He talks about growing the Wormsloe Foundation's wealth and using those assets to host fellows at Wormsloe and fund books on history and nature. He discusses his involvement with the University of Georgia Press. He also talks about the current members on the board of the Wormsloe Foundation.

Keywords: Charles Boynton "Chuck" Knapp; De Renne Collection; Dorinda G. Dallmeyer; Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library; Laura Palmer Bell Barrow; environmental ethics; family foundation; publishing

Partial Transcript: Alright, I would like to talk about the Department of Natural Resources.

Segment Synopsis: Barrow talks about Wormsloe's relationship with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) which helps with maintenance, preservation, and infrastructure. He describes how in 1985 the DNR issued a permit to build a bridge across Wormsloe's marsh and Pigeon Island which used to be part of Wormsloe. He discusses fighting against the development and buying Pigeon Island to preserve it.

Keywords: Georgia Heritage Trust Program; The Georgia Heritage Trust Act of 1975 (O.C.G.A. 12-3-70); Wormsloe Foundation; Wymberley Wormsloe De Renne; conservation easement; environmental preservation

Partial Transcript: By Sarah, you mean Sarah Ross?

Segment Synopsis: Barrow describes meeting Sarah Ross who became the director of the Center for Research and Education at Wormsloe, the president of the Wormsloe Foundation, and the director of the Wormsloe Institute for Environmental History. He discusses how Ross helped with the proposal to give Wormsloe to the University of Georgia and the Department of Natural Resources. He talks about Ross's promotion of research and education at Wormsloe through various programs.

Keywords: Center for Wildlife Education at Georgia Southern; Georgia Department of Natural Resources; Robert Ballard; Savannah Science Museum; University of Georgia Press

Partial Transcript: But you had mentioned that there were failures, you know, along that way...

Segment Synopsis: Barrow describes the Wormsloe Foundation's original plan to sell Wormsloe to the state which was not successful. He discusses the evolution of the Wormsloe Foundation which originally only had family members and made grants to people in the community. Now people outside the family also serve on the foundation's board, and the foundation exclusively uses its money on Wormsloe. He talks about convincing the other board members of the foundation to support Sarah Ross's vision of Wormsloe's future.

Keywords: Sonny Perdue; The University of Georgia; education; family foundation; leadership; research

Partial Transcript: So this early involvement with UGA and the fellows...

Segment Synopsis: Barrow describes the Wormsloe fellows program through the Center for Research and Education at Wormsloe which supports multidisciplinary research on-site. Barrow talks about his own experience with historic preservation and discusses the problems with house museums. He emphasizes the importance of protecting and preserving Wormsloe through research and education.

Keywords: Center for Remote Mapping and Sensing (CRMS); Drew Swanson; Jessica Cook; The University of Georgia; archeology; butterfly gardens; public funding

Partial Transcript: When does the foundation form the Wormsloe Institute for Environmental History?

Segment Synopsis: Barrow describes how Sarah Ross established the Wormsloe Institute for Environmental History, discussing how its public status enables the institute to do things that the private Wormsloe Foundation cannot. He talks about the fellows program at the institute which has hosted researchers since 2007. He describes the Center for Research and Education at Wormsloe which is run through the University of Georgia on land donated by the Wormsloe Foundation.

Keywords: Georgia Department of Natural Resources; Joseph Jones Research Center at Ichauway; Sapelo Island; Wormsloe Butterfly Gardens; coastal Georgia; environmental research; grants

Partial Transcript: In this latest stage of your stewardship of Wormsloe, what would you say has been the most difficult thing to manage?

Segment Synopsis: Barrow discusses the difficulty of protecting Wormsloe from government intrusion and development, describing his fight to save the Confederate batteries on the property that would have been destroyed by a road expansion. Barrow describes his legacy at Wormsloe as resisting development, carrying on the traditions of his ancestors, building the Wormsloe Foundation, and strengthening Wormsloe's relationship with the University of Georgia.

Keywords: Diamond Causeway; Georgia Department of Natural Resources; Georgia Department of Transportation (DOT); eminent domain; environmental preservation; stewardship