In 1961 The Ossabaw Foundation created by Eleanor Torrey West and Clifford B. West launched the Ossabaw Island Project as an artistic and scholarly retreat. Over the years the island's solitude and natural beauty served as the setting for notable visitors including composers Aaron Copland, Samuel Barber; writers Ralph Ellison, Annie Dillard, Olive Ann Burns, and Margaret Atwood; sculptor Harry Bertoia; and scientist Eugene Odum. The Ossabaw Foundation was also host to The Genesis Project, scientific research and public use and education programs on the island.