Villa Ospo
Designed in 1927 by John Russell Pope, the architect of the Jefferson Memorial, Villa Ospo was the winter retreat of Standard Oil director Walter Jennings, who with his wife Jean turned the Spanish-eclectic cottage into the unofficial welcome house of the Jekyll Island Club. An automobile collision left Jennings weakened, and he died of a heart attack inside the villa in January 1933, never having recovered. Visitors and staff have long reported small disturbances in the great room and halls: an unexplained creak, a low rumble, the drifting scent of cigar smoke and perfume. Locals say the old host still keeps his habit, watching quietly over those who come and go from the doorway, as though greeting guests one last time.
📍 Riverview Drive, Jekyll Island Historic District, Jekyll Island, GA 31527, Jekyll Island, GA · Get directions