What is the name of the island where 'The Gold-Bug' is set?

The island where Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Gold-Bug” is set is Sullivan’s Island, off the coast of South Carolina. The story opens with William Legrand living in a remote cabin there after losing his family fortune.

Sullivan’s Island is not just a backdrop: Poe uses its isolation, sandy terrain, nearby military fort, and connection to the sea to create the atmosphere of a treasure adventure. Legrand lives there with his servant Jupiter, and the narrator visits him after Legrand discovers a strange scarab-like insect.

The plot eventually moves from the island to the South Carolina mainland. A coded message, a skull, a tree, and a measurement lead Legrand and his companions to buried treasure associated with the pirate Captain Kidd. That shift can cause confusion, because the island is the story’s starting location while the treasure is found elsewhere.

Sullivan’s Island was also meaningful in Poe’s life: he served at nearby Fort Moultrie during his military career. The setting therefore combines fictional mystery with a place Poe knew firsthand.