Wilmington Island: creeks, marsh and the county permit office

A suburb that grew by the decade

Wilmington Island is an unincorporated community east of Savannah between Thunderbolt and Tybee. It had 3,284 residents in 1970 and grew fast through the 1980s and 1990s to 15,138 in 2010 and 15,129 in 2020, with a median age of 45.1 (Wikipedia, read 2 November 2026). Based on that curve, much of the housing dates from the 1970s through the 1990s. Slab or crawl space varies house to house, so check yours.

Creeks come over the banks

During Hurricane Irma on 11 September 2017, storm surge pushed creeks over their banks. Walthour Road went under water, the Betz Creek neighborhood had significant water, and high tide reached at least one home (WTOC, 12 September 2017). Next door, Whitemarsh Island is ringed by marsh, the Wilmington River and Turner Creek (AARoads). For houses of this age that means soaked soil, rotted wood at ground level and moisture under raised floors.

Check the wood and the drainage

On a house that is forty or fifty years old, check for soft trim at the base of the walls, a crawl space that smells damp, and downspouts that empty against the foundation. See the crawl space page and the foundation guide.

Permits go to the county

With no city government, building permits go to Chatham County Building Safety and Regulatory Services, 1117 Eisenhower Drive, Suite D, phone (912) 201-4300. The county's forms page lists a foundation permit application, and its alterations packet names foundation repair and asks for two sets of drawings with a wall section. The office takes weekday walk in hours and no fax or email applications. See the permit guide.

How you get around

US 80 east toward Fort Pulaski and Tybee, the Islands Expressway, the high level bridges over the Wilmington River, and Johnny Mercer Boulevard are how people describe the island. Oatland Island Wildlife Center is nearby.

A short checklist for an island house

Look at the lowest wood on the house: door trim, the bottom of siding, the skirt around a raised floor. Probe it gently with a screwdriver, and if it is soft, photograph it. Check whether the lot has a low spot that holds water after a rain, and whether gutters carry water well away. If the house flooded in Irma or a later storm, mention it when you call, because that changes what a person should look for. Then phone the county office to learn what paperwork the work would need.

Where these facts come from

Read on 2 November 2026.

• Wikipedia: Wilmington Island, Georgia.
• WTOC, 12 September 2017.
• AARoads Islands Expressway guide.
• Chatham County Building Safety forms page.