Skidaway Island, Georgia

Skidaway Island is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Chatham County, Georgia, and lies on a barrier island of the same name. Located south of Savannah, Skidaway Island is known for its waterfront properties and golf courses within The Landings, one of the largest gated communities in the country. The population was 9,310 at the 2020 census. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Skidaway Island as a census-designated place (CDP). A separate area of the island hosts the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, a research institution operated by the University of Georgia. It receives scholars and researchers from several other Georgia universities as well, including Georgia Tech, Savannah State University, and the College of Coastal Georgia. Skidaway Island is part of the Savannah Metropolitan Statistical Area.

It is uncertain why the name "Skidaway" was applied to this island; the name may be derived from a word in Yamacraw or another Native American Creek language. In his 1967 publication How Georgia Got Her Names, Hal E. Brinkley stated that the name might be an Anglicized form of Scenawki, the wife of the Yamacraw chief Tomochichi, for whom Georgia's founder James Oglethorpe named the island.

In a March 2019 referendum, Skidaway Island voters overwhelmingly rejected a bill that would have incorporated their community as the City of Skidaway Island. The island remains unincorporated.

Geography
Skidaway Island is located at 31.9275°N, -81.0425°W (31.927434, -81.042505).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 17.9 sqmi, of which 16.4 sqmi is land and 1.5 sqmi (8.45%) is water.

Demographics
Skidaway Island was first listed as a CDP in 1980 U.S. Census.

2020
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 9,310 people, 4,272 households, and 3,014 families residing in the CDP.

Notable people

 * Dorothea Orem, nursing theorist, who died at her home on Skidaway Island on June 22, 2007.
 * Ron Senkowski, founder of Farmer's Almanac TV.
 * Bobby Thomson, baseball player, who died at his home there on August 16, 2010.