Oatland Island Wildlife Center

The land that became Oatland Island Wildlife Center has lived several lives before arriving at this one. Cotton grew here in the 18th and 19th centuries. A retirement home for railroad conductors opened in 1927. The U.S. Public Health Service converted it to a hospital, then a laboratory where researchers developed what became the no-pest fly strip. The CDC closed its Savannah field office in 1973, and a local teacher lobbied the surplus property into an environmental education center. Today, operated by the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System across 100 acres, it houses more than 150 animals representing over 40 species.