The records in this collection were created during a series of litigations that occurred over the land ownership for beach front property located on St. Simons Island, Georgia. The litigation was extensive and included civil actions, a jury trial, and appeals to the Georgia Supreme Court. The Hopkins family, represented by attorney Rhett Tanner, ultimately prevailed. An Atlanta lawyer named Morton Rolleston, Jr. represented the other interests, the Cherry family from Atlanta and the Mobley family in Brunswick, Georgia. Additional litigation over the beach front property would follow as members of the Hopkins family filed suit against various land developers over disagreements with the partitoning of the property. Those additional cases include Hamby v. Hopkins, Wiedemeyer v. Hopkins, and Hopkins v. Curry. Attorney Alton H. Hopkins, who was the main representative for the Hopkins family, had previously kept in his possession the case files that make up this collection.
This collection consists of records documenting the history of litigation over property ownership and development on St. Simons Island, Georgia between 1967 and 2005. Court cases included in the collection are Cherry and Mobley v. Hopkins, Coast House v. Cherry and Rolleston / Cherry v. Rolleston, Hamby v. Hopkins, Wiedmeyer v. Hopkins, and Hopkins v. Curry. Records in the collection include legal documents such as briefs, transcripts, contracts, and exhibit materials; notes; correspondence; newspaper clippings; land and tax records; plats; maps; drawings; photographs; and audiovisual recordings.
Arranged in six series: Series I. Ashmore Case; Series II. Cherry, Mobley v. Hopkins; Series III. Coast House v. Cherry and Rolleston / Cherry v. Rolleston; Series IV. Hamby v. Hopkins; Series V. Wiedemeyer v. Hopkins; and Series VI. Hopkins v. Curry.
This collection contains audiovisual materials. Reference copies of the audiovisual recordings are available upon request. Research requests will be filled as soon as possible and will be dependent upon the condition of the recordings.
Alton H. Hopkins Collection of St. Simons Beach Case Records, Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, University of Georgia Libraries, Athens, Georgia, 30602-1641.
Before material from collections at the Richard B. Russell Library may be quoted in print, or otherwise reproduced, in whole or in part, in any publication, permission must be obtained from (1) the owner of the physical property, and (2) the holder of the copyright. It is the particular responsibility of the researcher to obtain both sets of permissions. Persons wishing to quote from materials in the Russell Library collection should consult the Director. Reproduction of any item must contain a complete citation to the original.
Finding Aid Publication
Finding Aid prepared by Tom Batcha, Agozie Onyirimba, and Brandon Pieczko, August 2018.
