The Oyster King: The Man Who Bought Saint George Island - Paperback

by James L. Hargrove (Author)

A resident of Saint George Island explores the talents and motivation that led a poet and evangelist to purchase the island in 1916. The charismatic William Lee Popham was a gifted speaker and enthusiastic writer who used his romance novels as equity to purchase the island. Sales of lots were slow until he hit upon a way to provide income from oystering. William Lee began to acquire land and leases to oyster bottoms but suffered ups and downs due to rivalries and accusations of fraud. Read about a man who was the dominant force in developing Apalachicola and Saint George Island from 1916 to 1936 The book is replete with photographs and illustrations, and contains a hilarious chapter about Sex on the Beach, not to mention more about oyster reproduction than you would ever want to know Pediveligers, anyone?

Author Biography

James L. Hargrove is a retired professor who lives on Saint George Island, Florida, where many of the events in this book took place. During his scientific career, he worked at University of Iowa, Emory University School of Medicine, and University of Georgia. His other books include Muscadine Health, Health Benefits of Pecans, and several books on nutrition and gene expression and mathematical modeling. Despite this, the story of the charming and controversial William Lee Popham "was just laying there" and needed to be told as historical fiction.