A Brief History of Savannah
Savannah is a city whose unique personality springs from
both idealistic and opportunistic roots in England. These paths of loss and
liberation give the town its shape, its color…and its fair share of ghosts.
James
Edward Oglethorpe is noted for founding Savannah, and thereby, the Colony of Georgia in 1733.
Before this, however, he briefly attended Corpus Christi College, served in the British military, and worked as an elected member of English Parliament. It is during this time that Oglethorpe became disillusioned
by the number of hard working citizens being imprisoned for bankruptcy and
debt. Even more discouraging were the inhumane living conditions of the
prisoners. By exposing this condition, Oglethorpe gained recognition as a
humanitarian. He continued these reform efforts by pushing to relocate the
poor to America. Ultimately, none of the jailed poor were chosen for early
colonization, but these considerate efforts do reveal that Oglethorpe aspired
to accomplish more than just plant another flag in the ground for his mother
country.
By 1732, King George II was
ready to grant the original charter for Georgia to a group of twenty-one
Trustees, many of whom were friends of Oglethorpe’s, now ready to begin a new
life in a New World. Furthermore, the colony would become a home for
persecuted Protestants, as well as provide a buffer between Carolina and the
Spanish in Florida. The Charter was licensed for twenty one years; after that
time, Georgia would become a Royal Colony. Until then, the Trustees would
administer the colony, unsalaried and in no personal possession of land.
Yet Savannah was hardly unoccupied at the time of its
founding. Tomochichi, a Native American, and his
accompanying tribe of Yamacraws also called the area home, prior to the arrival
of the galley ship Anne and its thirty-five families. Locating high ground,
Oglethorpe and his settlers began construction of the 13th colony in
accordance with the charter.
Families were each given a town lot around one of the four
initial squares, a garden area, and fifty acres of land to farm. (England would receive goods quid pro quo.) Mary Musgrove, a Creek, and her English husband
John, were already in the area as well, working as traders. Befriending the
two enabled the settlers to better communicate with Tomochichi and the
Indian tribes. A useful assortment of trade’s people filled out the city.
Carpenters, lawyers, tailors, an apothecary, an engineer, a wheelwright, five
farmers, cloth workers, a stocking-maker, merchants, a baker, a gardener, and
servants all planted roots in the new colony.
Six months after the English settlers arrived, Portuguese
landed at the new port. William Cox, the colonists' only doctor, was also among
them. Despite the Trustees instruction to turn Jews away, Oglethorpe allowed
for them. (Savannah is now the home to the third oldest Jewish congregation in
the United States.) German Protestants followed in 1734, and Moravian pacifists
in 1736. Evangelists John
and Charles Wesley also arrived that year, but the two of them
eventually left disappointed. A company of Scots Highlanders also settled at
what is now Darien to provide a further buffer against the Spanish.
Oglethorpe finally eradicated the Spanish threat in the Battle of
Bloody Marsh and returned to England in 1743. (Today his statue in Chippewa Square faces south, keeping watch on the Spanish threat.) By the time the Trustees
relinquished management of the colony in 1753, the slavery ban had been
overturned and slaves accounted for one-third of the colony's population. Silk
production waned, and the colony struggled to support itself. While rice
production helped stimulate the economy, the dream of a perfect world gave way
to reality.
Even before the signing of the Declaration of Independence, many
Savannahians resisted British authority. The corner of Bull and Broughton,
where tourists can stand today, was the site of Tondee’s tavern, a focal point
of rebellion. Declaration of Independence signee Button Gwinnett,
buried today in the Colonial cemetery, became governor. This was a formal sign
that Georgia would stand against the English rule, although it would take many
years—and many more lives lost--before Savannah realized full independence.
In fact, Savannah is the site of the second bloodiest battle
of the American Revolution. This battle, known as The Siege of Savannah, took
place October 9, 1779. Fighting alongside the French, Americans lost more
lives this day than at Bunker Hill. Sergeant William Jasper
died trying to save his unit’s battle flag. Casimir Pulaski, a Polish patriot,
also lost his life fighting for the Patriots’ cause. Hundreds of French and
American soldiers, many of them black troops from the French reserve, were
buried en masse in the area where the Savannah Visitor’s Center now operates.
Despite ongoing efforts by men like Colonel Francis Marion, Savannah was
occupied by the British until General “Mad Anthony” Wayne drove them out in
1782.
Exemplifying the adage that necessity is the mother of
invention, Eli Whitney introduced
his cotton gin, returning a means of wealth to the area. Classical Revival
architecture replaced Colonial, and architect William Jay erected stunningly
elegant mansions. The new century also saw the SS Savannah
become the first steamer to cross the Atlantic. With King Cotton, the slave
trade, and tobacco, prosperity increased until the Civil War.
On January 3, 1861, in the first aggressive act of the war,
134 members of three militia units, the Chatham Artillery, the Oglethorpe Light
Infantry and the Savannah Volunteer Guards seized Fort Pulaski. However, within 30 hours, Fort Pulaski’s “impenetrable” walls were cracked, dangerously exposing large amounts of gun
powder. Not wanting to see his men wiped out entirely, Colonel Charles
Olmstead quickly surrendered to the Union Navy.
In December of 1864, many fled Savannah fearing the advance
of General William
Tecumseh Sherman. Sherman’s triumphant telegraph to President Lincoln
has become well known in the south: “I beg to present you as a Christmas Gift,
the City of Savannah with 150 heavy guns and plenty of ammunition; and also
about 25,000 bales of cotton.”
Science and technology would rapidly change the face of
war—and life-- in the coming century. Fortunately, Savannah’s history remains
preserved at nearly every square, river, and cemetery. Nothing haunts a city
like its past.
Savannah's Historic Locations
The
Savannah Historic District, a National Historic Landmark, is significant for its distinctive grid plan as well as its 18th and 19th century architecture. The district encompasses the original town plan laid out in 1733 by Gen. James E. Oglethorpe, founder of the British colony of Georgia. Today Savannah retains much of this plan based on divisions also called wards, squares, and "trustee lots.". Most of the original squares remain and are surrounded by fine examples of buildings in the Georgian, Greek Revival, and Gothic styles. Notable buildings include the Owens-Thomas House built in 1818 (Oglethorpe square), the Beaux-Arts style Edmund Molyneux Mansion circa 1917 (Bull Street), the Spencer Woodbridge House built in 1795 (Habersham Street), and the 1853 Gothic Revival Greene House (Madison Square). Important sites associated with the African American community in the district include Beach Institute (East Harris St.), constructed in 1865 as the city's first black school, and the King-Tisdell Cottage (East Harris St.), the 1896 home of a working-class African American family.
The boundaries of the Savannah Historic District are the Savannah River, E. Broad Street, Gwinnett Street, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard. Self-guided tours of Savannah are available from the Savannah Visitor Center, in the restored Central of Georgia railroad station at 301 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. The visitor center is open Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m. and Saturday-Sunday 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. (912) 944-0455.
The
Savannah Victorian Historic District, Savannah's first suburb, is located just south of the Savannah Historic District. Originally a parade ground, the extension of street railways in the late 19th century spurred the development of this neighborhood. The wood frame houses dating from the 1870s and 1880s are a mixture of several Victorian styles of architecture. Some of the best examples of these are the Carpenter Box style houses on West Gwinnett Street embellished with ornate brackets and cornices, the Queen Anne style mansion at the corner of Whitaker and Gwinnett, and the imposing Victorian Telfair Hospital on Park Avenue.
The boundaries of the Savannah Victorian Historic District are Gwinnett Street, Anderson Street, and building lines just beyond Montgomery Street and Price Street.
Note: Anderson Street was, for many years, the southern "edge" of town. At one time, it was a short drive East by motor car to the end of Anderson Street which terminated at a large field not too far from the Bonaventure Cemetary. This area was affectionately known as "Lover's Lane" by those in the know.
At the turn of the century, Savannah grew southward. Victory Drive was expanded. Ultimately, it became the road to Tybee Island (also known as Savannah Beach) which was at one time only accessable by a train which travelled along the Savannah River. Victory Drive heading westward connected up to the "highway" which led to Estill, South Carolina which for many years was the mecca for railroad workers and cargo.
Just after the turn of the century, development of
Ardsley Park was started. Ardsley Park is located south of Victory Drive, and a few blocks north of Columbus Avenue. It extends between Bull Street and Waters Avenue. Sometimes the Chatham Crescent neighborhood is included in Ardsley Park. The area was first developed in 1910, but most homes were built in the 1930s and 1940s. The neighborhood is considered one of the most affluent within city limits by local residents.
The idea was the brainstorm of Harry Hays Lattimore, William Lattimore and anonymous partners in the Ardsley Park Land Corporation. No one is certain how the Ardsley name evolved though some have theorized that it was borrowed from a British neighborhood. The area was laid out in grids with squares, similar to the plan used in downtown Savannah by Gen. James Edward Oglethorpe, founder of the colony. The northern and western boundaries of Ardsley Park were marked at Estill Avenue and Bull Street by an impressive looking retaining wall made of Belgian block similar to those used as ballast on ships sailing from England. At key intersections stone pillars with Spanish-looking tile roods marked the entrances to the park. Adjacent to Ardsley Park was a much larger piece of acreage known as the Granger Tract. Owner Harvey Granger was something of a transportation visionary who is credited with paving the first concrete road in the state and finishing the Atlantic Coastal Highway, which ultimately connected the seaboard states with Florida.
Marketed as Chatham Crescent by Granger’s Chatham Land and Hotel Company, the Granger Tract took its design from the Beaux Arts plan popular at the time. At various points in the neighborhood, city blocks were punctuated with 1-acre (4,000 m2) circles (named for city and county officials), a crescent-shaped street, and a landscaped mall. At the end of the palmetto-lined mall stretching between Maupas Avenue to 47th Street was to be the centerpiece of Chatham Crescent – a magnificent tourist facility called the Hotel Georgia.
The Spanish Revival-style hotel was designed by noted architect Henrik Wallin, who assisted Henry Bacon with New York’s Astor Hotel. Apparently the developers hoped that wealthy Northerners would check into what was to be a luxurious hotel and decide to purchase a second home in Chatham Crescent. Unfortunately, the hotel encountered numerous problems and barely got off the ground. Eventually, Savannah High School (now the Savannah Arts Academy) was built on the nearly eight acres of land set aside for the hotel.
Ardsley Park was designed with tree-planting strips, or tree lawns, between the streets and sidewalks, while Chatham Crescent featured large trees planted directly on the front lawns. More than 5,000 trees were planted in Chatham Crescent under the direction of Henri Bignault, a landscape architect trained at the Ecole de Beaux Arts.
By the 1930s, for the most part, development of Ardsley Park and Chatham Crescent was complete. The Lattimore’s next project was Ardmore, to the south of both Ardsley Park and Chatham Crescent. At the southern end of this new neighborhood was diamond-shaped Hull Park, which became a popular recreational site. Bordering one side of the park with the Gould Cottage for Children, funded by millionaire philanthropist Edwin Gould and designed by architect Cletus Bergen. All in all, the Lattimores developed and sold six residential subdivisions, involving more than 1,500 lots.
In 1985, Ardsley Park and Chatham Crescent were named to the National Register of Historic Places under the collective name of Ardsley Park.
The eastern edge of the neighborhood is situated on high ground, twenty-five or more feet above sea level. The western portion is former swampland, and experiences frequent flooding during summer storms and tropical systems.
Laurel Grove-South Cemetery is significant as a visual record of African American history in Savannah. In 1852, fifteen acres of the Laurel Grove Cemetery were set aside for the burial of "free persons of color and slaves." The cemetery was historically separated from the white Laurel Grove-North Cemetery by what is now Highway 204. Tombstones range from small markers with little or no ornamentation, to monumental markers with elaborately carved figures. Inscriptions on many of the tombstones record African American history not included in written histories of the region.
The Laurel Grove Cemetery is on 37th Street in Savannah.
In 1788 Andrew Bryan, a former slave, organized one of the earliest black Baptist churches in North America. Bryan began preaching while a slave in Chatham County. In 1788 he purchased his freedom and formed a congregation which was chartered under the name of
First Bryan Baptist Church. This congregation was significantly involved in the affairs of the Savannah black community. In 1793 Bryan obtained the lot where the First Bryan Baptist Church (constructed in 1873) now stands. A dispute over doctrine in 1832 caused a schism, resulting in two congregations. The congregations of the First Bryan Baptist Church and the
First African Baptist Church, constructed in 1859, are direct descendants of Bryan's original congregation.
First Bryan Baptist Church is at 575 West Bryan Street in Savannah.
First African Baptist Churchis at 23 Montgomery Street in Savannah.
Built between 1829 and 1847 on Cockspur Island to protect the river approaches to the city of Savannah,
Fort Pulaski was part of America's ambitious Third-System of coastal fortifications. Featuring walls of solid brick seven and one-half feet thick, the fort was considered impregnable by most military authorities. At the beginning of the Civil War, Confederate forces occupied Fort Pulaski, and early in 1862, Union forces laid siege to it. Using newly developed rifled cannons with superior range and penetrating power, the Federals breached the walls of the fort in a 30-hour bombardment that forced a Confederate surrender. The restored fort stands today as a monument to the power of technology to render previous conceptions of invincibility instantly obsolete.
Fort Pulaski National Monument, administered by the National Park Service, is east of Savannanh off of US Highway 80. Open daily 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. For more information visit the National Park Service website, Fort Pulaski National Monument, or call 912-786-5787.
Situated on a forested peninsula surrounded by coastal marshes,
Wormsloe Plantation was established in 1737 by Noble Jones one of the first British colonists in the area. The site includes a plantation house built by Jones' grandson in 1828, a detached library, the ruins of a fortified house, a mile-long drive bordered by large oaks, and Confederate earthworks. Wormsloe was Noble Jones' country estate where he experimented with his grand passion—horticulture. He protected the cypress and oak forests of his property and never cultivated the land. The surviving ruins of the original house are one of the only remaining examples of fortified houses once common throughout coastal Georgia.
Wormsloe Plantation State Historic Site is 10 miles southeast of Savannah at 7601 Skidway Road, just north of Isle of Hope. Open Tuesday-Saturday 9:00 a.-5:00 p.m., Sunday 2:00 p.m.-5:30 p.m. Admission. (912) 353-3023.
Source: National Register of Historic Places -
www.cr.nps.gov/nr/