A long-running dispute over a secluded Georgia retreat owned by descendants of Coca-Cola founder Asa Candler has divided the family, as some heirs challenge a proposed land exchange that could determine who controls the property in future.
High Point, a seven-home compound on the northern tip of Cumberland Island, has served as a private holiday sanctuary for the Candler family since the 1930s. The National Park Service is now considering a deal that would give family members permanent rights to part of the site in return for other land on the island.
The proposed exchange has alarmed David Ball and his brothers, Warren and Lamar, who are not part of the limited liability company negotiating with the Park Service. The company is led by relatives Sam Candler and Glenn Warren.
David Ball, 71, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he feared the arrangement could eventually prevent his branch of the family from visiting High Point.
“If they get this thing, they’ll find a way to kick us off or drive us off,” he said. “I’ll take a bulldozer to my mother’s house before I let them get full control of it.”
The future of the Cumberland Island retreat
The National Park Service said the proposed agreements remain at an early stage and are subject to further review, including an environmental assessment and a public consultation process expected this autumn. The agency says the wider exchanges are intended to consolidate ownership and reduce the difficulties created by private and federal land being interspersed across the national seashore. ([nps.gov](https://www.nps.gov/cuis/learn/management/proposed-land-exchange.htm?utm_source=openai))
Candler family interests in High Point date back to 1930, when Charles Howard Candler Sr, the eldest son of Asa Candler, acquired the former High Point Hotel and surrounding land. The family later assembled a much larger holding, including the 38-acre compound at the centre of the current dispute. ([caselaw.findlaw.com](https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/us-11th-circuit/1851796.html?utm_source=openai))
Ownership of the compound was transferred to the federal government in 1982 in a deal worth more than $9 million. The agreement allowed 28 family members to remain in their homes for their lifetimes, meaning the properties are due to return to the government when the last of those heirs dies. ([ajc.com](https://www.ajc.com/news/2026/07/gilded-age-redux-fed-plan-oks-new-mansions-on-primitive-georgia-island/?utm_source=openai))
The proposed swap would alter that long-term arrangement by giving the Candler interests permanent rights to a larger tract at High Point, while surrendering land in a more heavily visited part of Cumberland Island.
Warren Ball, 67, said he was less confrontational than his brother but remained concerned about what the deal could mean for the next generation. He told the newspaper that High Point was now treated more like a private club than a unified family retreat.
“At my age, I figured I had 10 more years at High Point, and I’d be satisfied,” he said. “I told my children that when I’m dead, they need to consider getting out of High Point because of the family dynamics.”
The disagreement comes as environmental groups question whether the proposed exchanges are compatible with the legal requirement for Cumberland Island National Seashore to be preserved in its primitive state. Conservation organisations have called for greater disclosure of the acreage, restrictions and possible development rights involved. ([protectnps.org](https://protectnps.org/2026/03/17/conservation-groups-urge-camden-county-to-delay-support-for-cumberland-island-land-exchange/?utm_source=openai))
Under draft terms reported in Georgia, new construction on exchanged land could be limited to 15,000 square feet and a height of 35 feet, although conservation groups have warned that the wording could permit substantial new homes within the protected seashore. The National Park Service has not finalised the exchanges. ([ajc.com](https://www.ajc.com/news/2026/07/gilded-age-redux-fed-plan-oks-new-mansions-on-primitive-georgia-island/?utm_source=openai))
For the Ball family, however, the immediate concern is less about new construction than the future of the homes already standing at High Point.
“We came as a family,” David Ball said. “And I thought we’d leave as a family.”
