Danish architect Morgens Tvede built Villa Marianna for Frank Miller Gould, grandson of railroad robber baron Jay Gould and son of Edwin Gould, who had purchased Chicota Cottage on Jekyll Island in 1900. Frank Gould spent summers on Jekyll Island as a youth, and was one of the club’s youngest members. The Spanish-inspired design features enclosed courtyards and a large formal garden. A long, rectangular fountain on the west elevation dramatizes the entry. The two-story house features a tower on the south elevation.
Villa Marianna became the headquarters of the Jekyll Island State Park Authority for most of the period between 1950 and 1978, and housed the executive directors between 1978 and 1995. The house is now available for rent as a special events venue.
References
McCash, June Hall. The Jekyll Island Cottage Colony. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1998.