The plantation was established by John Mullryne and his son-in-law Josiah Tattnall around 1770. The family started small family burial ground, around which the cemetery would eventually surround. Both men were loyalists to the British Crown and as a result, the plantation was confiscated and later sold to an American supporter. However, Josiah reacquired the land and his family owned the property (and continued to&nbsp;bury family members here)&nbsp;until 1846 when they sold it to a hotelier, who maintained the cemetery and whose son opened the&nbsp;cemetery to others who wished to be buried there.&nbsp;Eventually, the city bought the property in 1907.

The cemetery features many stone statues and graves such as these.

The oak-lined streets are a key attraction to the cemetery.

Website

Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001, Bonaventure Cemetery is one of Savannah's more popular tourist attractions. It is well known for its large oak trees and burial art and architecture (statues, obelisks and mausoleums). Another interesting feature is there is a section where Jewish people are interred; there is also a Jewish Chapel, the only one known to exist in a public cemetery in the state. The cemetery, which was originally part of a large plantation, was also the location where French and Haitian troops, under the command of Count Charles d'Estaing, landed, camped and prepared for a combined American-Franco siege to retake Savannah from the British during the American Revolutionary War in September-October 1779 (the siege and subsequent attack failed).

Bonaventure Cemetery

Erik and Heidi’s first trip in 18 years

Savannah Trip 2024

William Scarbrough was a wealthy ship merchant and became one of the principal investors of the SS Savannah. His status earned him other positions such as bank director and&nbsp;manager of elections. Unfortunately, the venture into the ship ultimately failed and as a result in 1820&nbsp;Scarbrough lost his money, the house&nbsp;and his health deteriorated.&nbsp;The home was in private hands until the late 1870s when it was sold to the city and became a public school. This lasted until the 1960s. At this point the house was in bad shape and underwent a restoration in the 1970s. There was a brief period of vacancy after that before the house was bought by the museum and&nbsp;restored and expanded in mid 1990s.&nbsp;

The Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum promotes Savannah's maritime history through its many artifacts and artwork on display. These include paintings, maritime antiques, and several scale models of ships related to Savannah, including the SS Savannah, the first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean. The museum is located in the 1818 William Scarbrough House, a National Historic Landmark and one of the first examples of Greek Revival architecture in the country. English-born architect William Jay designed the house. Only a few of his buildings have survived, a fact that gave further impetus to designate the home as a National Landmark.

Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum (William Scarbrough House)

The passage of the
Eighteenth Amendment in 1920 was the culmination of years of lobbying and campaigning
by various groups in what was known as the temperance movement. Temperance
societies were present across the United States, and various local and state
laws restricting alcohol were passed in the 1800s. The temperance movement
began to gather steam at the turn of the century, with national groups such as
the Anti-Saloon League becoming increasingly influential. Many of the movement’s
strongest advocates were women, evangelical Protestants, and factory owners,
who believed that alcohol was immoral, damaging to families, and limited
productivity. The campaign proved highly successful, and the Eighteenth
Amendment, which banned the production, transfer, and sale of alcohol, was
ratified and went into effect in 1920.

Problems with
Prohibition began to emerge almost immediately. Enforcing the ban on alcohol
was difficult, expensive, and prone to corruption. Bootlegging -the illegal
production of alcohol- became a thriving Black market, and speakeasies opened
up to sell it. Rather than decrease violence, Prohibition fueled the rise of dangerous
gangs and organized crime, which made lucrative profits off of selling or
smuggling alcohol and operating speakeasies. The number of incarcerations
skyrocketed. Thousands of people were also killed by drinking toxic homemade
alcoholic beverages. Support for Prohibition began to decline as the costs of
its impact mounted. In 1933, following the election of President Franklin Roosevelt,
the Twenty-first Amendment was ratified, formally repealing the Eighteenth
Amendment and ending Prohibition on the national level. By 1966, every state
had repealed their own bans on alcohol.

In 2015, the company
Historic Tours of America began planning to establish a museum dedicated to
prohibition. Savannah, Georgia was chosen out of seven possible locations due
to the state’s historic ties to prohibition efforts. During the colonial era,
King George III issued a decree banning hard liquor in Georgia, the first place
in America to experience a ban on alcohol. Historic Tours of America purchased
a former retail store and apartment building in the City Market district and
spent two years converting it into a museum, opening in 2017. 

The immersive,
two-story, 5,500 square-foot museum features thirteen exhibits, containing wax
figures, videos, and other effects. They cover topics such as the temperance
movement, Carry Nation (an activist who was notorious for destroying bars with
her hatchet), moonshining and bootlegging, smuggling, organized crime, the
repeal of Prohibition, flapper culture, and the origins of NASCAR. &nbsp;Interesting features include talking pictures,
four antique vehicles, and an artificial river of whiskey. Additionally there
is a theater which plays an informational video during the day and classic
movies in the evenings. 

The American
Prohibition Museum is also known for having its own secret bar, 220 Congress
Street Up. The bar is designed to resemble an authentic 1920s speakeasy; it is
even discreetly hidden and requires a password to enter. It serves a variety of
prohibition-era alcoholic beverages, and also offers cocktail-making classes.
220 Congress Street Up is open during normal museum hours, as well as weekend
nights. Both the bar and the theater can be rented for private events.

The American Prohibition Museum is the only museum in the United States that focuses on the temperance movement and the Prohibition Era. Prohibition began in 1920 when the Eighteenth Amendment banned the production and selling of alcohol, and ended in 1933 when it was repealed by the Twenty-first Amendment. The museum presents the history of Prohibition and its impact on America, both good and bad. It opened in 2017 and is owned and operated by Historic Tours of America. The museum includes thirteen separate exhibits, a theater, gift shop, and a fully-stocked bar designed to resemble a speakeasy

American Prohibition Museum

The Montmollin Building is no stranger to important history. It’s use as a slave-market auction-site is devastating at best, but on top of that, there is no commemoration for its slave history or the memory of the building being turned into a freed slave school after General Sherman and his “march to the sea.” The name of the building has even been changed, so to forget the memory of slave trader John S. Montmollin and his partner Alexander Bryan. The Montmollin Building is one of many historical buildings in Savannah, Georgia that have not been recognized for their historical significance.As mentioned before, the owner of the Montmollin Building was none other than John S. Montmollin himself. He was well known in Savannah as a successful slave trader, so it was no surprise when he rented out his third floor to another well-known slave trader, Alexander Bryan. Although it was technically Bryan who ran the slave trade on the third floor, it is assumed that Montmollin was also involved because the bottom floor of building, below his first floor butcher shop, was used to house slaves in chains without being rented out by Alexander Bryan. Montmollin died in 1859 by explosion of a boiler of a steamer so his, “property fell into the possession of Alexander Bryan, who until a few days prior to the occupation of Savannah by the Federals, used the premises as a jail and office for the barter and sale of slaves,” (Savannah Daily Herald, 1865).Slavery was part of a horrific period of time that will never be fully lost on people or history. However some people have forgotten, so it is important to know that even when the Emancipation Proclamation was put into law by Abraham Lincoln, several southern regions chose to ignore it and continue with the buying and selling of slaves. This included Antebellum Savannah. In fact, President Lincoln gave specific orders that slave trade was to be entirely ended by January 1st, 1863, however, the Montmollin building continued to buy and sell slaves until December 1864, almost a full two years after it was deemed illegal.As soon as Lincoln found out that Antebellum Savannah and many other southern regions were still participating in the slave trade, he gave orders to General William T. Sherman to lead an army of 60,000 soldiers to Savannah from Atlanta. It was said that the sole purpose of this march was to scare those still partaking in slave trade into stopping. (history.com editors, 2018). They achieved this by stealing food and livestock and burning down the houses of individuals who tried to fight back against them. Although General Sherman was looking to put an end to the slave trade, it is important to acknowledge the immense amount of damage his soldiers and himself caused to the south. However, news of this march did not seems to scare Bryan and he continued to run his slave market until General Sherman and his soldiers physically forced him to stop. The slaves were set free and that same third floor was eventually turned into a school for freed slaves. (Mobley, 2009).One would think a building with that much history would be filled with some type of commemoration, but the sad fact is there is none. Today, it is just an average pet store with no proof of its strong historical past. It takes a lot of digging to find out that the building was once a slave auction site. However, it takes even more digging to reveal that after the fact, it became a freed slave school. Even with that research, it still is unclear who managed the school, how long it was used, or who even was interested in using the building as a school. All that is mentioned is that the third floor was no longer property of the original owners and continued afterwards as a school. Obviously, somewhere along the way that history was covered up and turned into a pet store where people are now oblivious to the trauma that took place within its walls.

Less than 200 years ago human beings were trapped within the walls of this building, called the Montmollin Building, where they awaited the horrific reality of being bought and sold as slaves in the United States. Located at 21 Barnard St. 31401, the building sits right in the heart of Savannah’s City Market. The building is of historical importance because of its use between the 1850’s until December 1864, when it was used to hold, buy and sell slaves in the slave market. It was owned by John S. Montmollin and the 3rd floor was rented out to Alexander Bryan until Bryan later ended up owning the building. Both were known for being largely involved in slave trade throughout the city of Savannah. This building is particularly important because it continued to host and sell slaves even after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by President Abraham Lincoln. Montmollin’s building only became slave free when “Sherman’s March to the Sea” put an end to it via physical force, and eventually turned it into a freed slave school. Sadly, today the building is still in tact, but without any commemoration to the slave-trade/slave school history. It is currently a pet store that people are free to walk through without seeing any recognition of the tragedy that took place within its walls. 

The Montmollin Building

The bronze and copper globe is split in two, symbolizing the division between the European and Pacific theaters of the War. The two halves of the globe are seated atop blocks of Georgia granite, between which visitors can walk. The names of the 527 Chatham County servicemembers killed in World War II are inscribed on the monument’s inner walls.&nbsp; An engraved stone reads: "Honoring all veterans of Chatham County who gave their lives to retain the freedom of the United States of America and save the world from tyranny."The Veterans Council of Chatham County is made up of 23 veterans organizations. The Veterans Council holds meetings monthly to determine their upcoming course of action and to discuss any pending events and announcements. The Veteran's Council is responsible for selecting the Veteran of the Year and organizing and implementing the Veterans Day Parade.

The symbolism of the monument, “A Word Apart,” depicts the globe split in half as a result of World War II. The interior of the monument features a wall of Georgia granite that lists the names of veterans from Chatham County who died while serving during the war. The monument was made possible by the Veterans Council of Chatham County and community donations. 

Chatham County World War II Memorial

Eli Whitney was a native of Massachusetts and a Yale Law Graduate. He wanted to practice law but the need for income was more important at the time, so in 1792&nbsp;he accepted an invitation from Catherine Greene (the widow of American Revolutionary General Nathaniel Greene)&nbsp;to work as a tutor on her plantation.&nbsp;There he learned how difficult it was for planters&nbsp;to remove the sticky seeds from the cotton. With Catherine's financial backing, Whitney spent the winter trying to figure out how to separate the seeds and eventually developed a gin.&nbsp;He received a patent for his invention on March 14, 1794. Henry Ogden Holmes improved the gin two years later and received his own patent in 1796. The invention of the cotton gin spurred the growth of cotton production in the South and&nbsp;gave rise to the textile&nbsp;industry in the North. The invention had dire long-term consequences given its connection to slavery, but it also gave the&nbsp;United States an advantage&nbsp;in producing textiles at a time when Britain dominated the industry. As for Whitney, he did not make his fortune from his cotton gin but he did become rich after inventing a way to mass produce muskets.

This historic marker was dedicated in 1986 and commemorates the invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney in 1794. This invention reduced the need to remove seeds from cotton by hand—a time-consuming process that had precluded cotton from being produced on a large scale. Cotton gins made the processing of cotton much more economical than other fibers, giving rise to the growth of cotton plantations in the American South in ways that fueled the increase of chattel slavery in the early 1800s. Prior to the rise of cotton production, many leading Americans believed that slavery would slowly decline and be entirely replaced by free labor. After the invention of the cotton gin, American planters and slaves produced a total amount of cotton that doubled each decade from 1800 to 1860. 

Invention of the Cotton Gin Historical Marker

Tomo Chi-Chi was thought to be born around 1644, some
sources also place his birth from 1650s to the 1660s. It is believed that he was
raised along the Chattahoochee River in Apalachicola town. Early records from
1706 seem to point to Tomo Chi-Chi being a slaver. Some of the first records of him were when he sold a few Native Americans to
English traders for goods, and later when he sold seven more “Waucoogau”
natives into slavery. It’s likely that from 1690-1715, he lived with Hitchitis,
a group known for selling other natives into slavery, along the Ocmulgee River. During this time, Tomo Chi-Chi created alliances with Yamasee speaking people, and then the Creek
Confederacy, which was created between 1680 and 1710. This gave Tomo Chi-Chi
power. By 1715, the Confederacy was a great mix of alliances between towns and it became very powerful after the Yamasee
War in 1715. The Yamasees fought English traders because they were assaulting
the native women, price gouging, and manipulating credit at the expense of the
Yamasees. The Yamasees were isolated by the Creek, and together with the British
Carolinians, outlawed the Native slave trade. This was a blow for Tomo Chi-Chi. The
Coweta Resolution between the Lower and Upper Creek in 1717 and 1718 pledged
partial allegiance to the British and made outcasts of the Yamasees and other groups that
participated in the uprising against the British. Tomo Chi-Chi’s power
came from the Yamasee slavers, and with them outcasts. he was “banished” from the
confederacy.After 1718,
he returned to Apalachicola Town to recover from his loss. In 1728, it is
thought he created the Yamacraw tribe, consisting of Lower Creek and Yamasees. &nbsp;By 1729, he had a falling out with the French near
the town, and he moved on to Apalachicola along the Savannah river. In 1732
he attended a treaty council with Upper and Lower Creek, as well as Carolina
officials, in a leadership role. He quickly became disliked among the Apalachicolans, and had to leave again. He then moved with the Yamacraw that followed
him down the river in late 1732, and created and led Yamacraw Bluff, along the south bank of the Savannah river, no doubt because of
the need of access to quality goods and new allies. In 1733, James Oglethorpe,
co-founder of Britain’s new colony Georgia, landed near Yamacraw Bluff.

In January
1733, Oglethorpe and Tomo Chi-Chi met along the Savannah River and made a verbal
agreement about the Native and British relations. In February, the two men met
in Savannah, where boundaries were set for the colony. Tomo Chi-Chi would
show up unexpectedly between February and March to establish himself in the
town. On March 7, he gave Oglethorpe deerskins, and Oglethorpe gave him gifts in
return. The two men exchanging gifts meant that, in native terms, there had
been an alliance forged. This alliance allowed for Tomo Chi-Chi to reenter the
Creek Confederacy. The alliance was also important to the British, who desperately needed Native allies&nbsp;due to the
border with Spanish-controlled Florida to the south.

In May 1734, Oglethorpe had Tomo Chi-Chi, his wife Senauki, and other Yamacraw administrators
join him in going to London, England, so they could ratify the agreement
reached between the Georgia colony and the Lower Creeks. Oglethorpe
needed the support of the Lower Creek for Georgia to survive. Tomo Chi-Chi probably
thought that by going to the negotiation, he would be able to get favorable
prices and more allies. This negotiation seemed to work; both sides got what
they wanted: the British trustees saw Georgia’s success, and Tomo Chi-Chi got to
communicate his needs in person and get some of what he wanted for his
people. 

Upon return,
Tomo Chi-Chi became the mediator between the Creek and the British, once he had
established himself as an important figure in the Creek Confederacy. Tomo Chi-Chi
supported efforts to have an Indian school established in 1736. He assisted
Oglethorpe with interactions with the Spanish by being a mediator and
establishing Georgia’s southern border. Oglethorpe and Tomo Chi-Chi were
thought to be good friends during their partnership. They were known to give
each other advice, and Oglethorpe was a pallbearer at Tomo Chi-Chi’s funeral. 

Tomo Chi-Chi died on
October 5, 1739, from a serious illness. Oglethorpe learned of Tomo Chi-Chi’s
death when he returned from a meeting with the Lower Creek.&nbsp; Oglethorpe held a military funeral for him
because of his&nbsp;part in establishing
Georgia as a colony. Before his death, Tomo Chi-Chi expressed that he wished to
be buried in Savannah, because of his hand in creating it. Tomo Chi-Chi was
buried in Wright Square under orders of Oglethorpe. Oglethorpe also had a
pyramid of stone placed over Tomo Chi-Chi’s grave, but it’s not known what
happened to it between the time of Tomo Chi-Chi’s death and a painting by
Joseph Louis Firmin Cerveau called View
of Savannah created in 1837 were the pyramid is not in Wright Square. Now, in Wright Square there is a monument to William Washington Gordon, that sits on
Tomo Chi-Chi’s grave. Gordon’s daughter in law, Nellie Kenzie Gordon, wanted
there to be a monument placed in Wright Square to Tomo Chi-Chi, because of the
removal of the mound and placement of the Gordon Monument. So on April 21, 1899
the Georgia Society of the Colonial Dames of America placed the Tomochichi
Monument, a granite boulder with a copper plaque commemorating him, in the
south eastern corner of Wright Square where it can still be viewed today.&nbsp; Which says “In Memory
of Tomo-Chi-Chi,&nbsp;The Mico of the Yamacraws,The Companion of Oglethorpe, And the friend and ally of the Colony of Georgia. This stone has been here placed, By the Georgia Society of the&nbsp;Colonial Dames of America 1739-1899".&nbsp;

At the current location of the Gordon Monument, there was once a monument and mound (referred to as a burial mound) for Chief of the Yamacraw Indians, Tomo Chi-Chi. Tomo Chi-Chi’s burial mound was removed in the early 1880’s to make way for the monument to William Washington Gordon, who was the founder and president of the Central Georgia Railroad. Tomo Chi-Chi is credited, along with James Oglethorpe, in the founding of Savannah and for the success of the Georgia colony. 



Tomo Chi-Chi's Grave Marker/Monument

<div>Juliette was an inquisitive child; she was interested in art, poetry, the outdoors, and was good at organizing playtime with family and friends. She was sent to boarding schools and upon finishing her schooling, returned to Savannah in 1880&nbsp;to be in charge of the household after&nbsp;her sister Alice&nbsp;died. It was during this time she met William Low and they fell in love. They did not get married until 1886 because he attended Oxford University.&nbsp;Unfortunately, their marriage did not last. She had always been a prone to sickness and was unable to bear children. For his part, William spent much of his time hunting and gambling.&nbsp;After he&nbsp;passed away&nbsp;in 1905, Juliette traveled and spent time thinking about what she could do to help others. On a trip to England in 1911, she met Baden-Powell and finally found her new calling in life.Juliette was able to start Girl Scouts (it was first called Girl Guides but changed to Girl Scouts in 1913)&nbsp;because she was particularly skilled at&nbsp;public relations and fundraising. She used her large network of friends for support and to help spread the world. Juliette wanted to make sure Girl Scouts would be "girl-led." One of the main elements to Juliette's Girl Scouts was diversity. She wanted all girls to be welcomed in Girl Scouts if they chose to be. As a result, girls of all different cultures, classes, and ethnicities joined Girl Scouts. &nbsp;</div><div>On January 17, 1927, Juliette passed away after a struggle with breast cancer. She is recognized for her will to strengthen and empower young women. After she passed, she was awarded many honors. Her friends made the Juliette Low World Friendship Fund, which&nbsp;helps Girl Scouts finance international projects. Even today, Girl Scouts still remember and dedicate scholarships, camps, and schools to her. Most recently she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012 from President Barack Obama. Juliette changed the way the world viewed women and the way women viewed themselves. With her encouragement and guidance, young women had the courage to take leadership in a time when that was uncommon. &nbsp;</div>

The founder of the Girl Scouts of America, Juliette Gordon Low, was born in this house on October 31st, 1860. She lived here until she married in 1886 to her husband William Low. Juliette Low had been a part of Girl Guides work in England and Scotland and brought Girl Scouting to America at the suggestion of Lord Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scout Movement. Juliette started the first Girl Scout troop in March of 1912 at the Louisa Porter Home in Savannah. In 1933 her birthplace was acquired by the Girl Scouts of the United States of America. Today it is used as a memorial to their founder and a center for girl scouting activities. The house, along with the adjacent Andrew Low House (Andrew was William's father) and its carriage house, comprise a National Historic Landmark District. 

Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace

The Owens-Thomas House &amp; Slave Quarters is located in the heart of the Historic District of Savannah. The English-born architect William Jay also designed the nearby Telfair Mansion, now the Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences, but the Owens-Thomas House is one of the most well-preserved examples of Jay's work in the Savannah area. The two-story home was completed in 1819 for Richard Richardson, a well-known bank president, shipping merchant, entrepreneur, and slave trader, his wife, Frances, and their six children.Although William Jay served as the architect, it was John Retan who built the home, along with numerous enslaved men who were under Retan's charge. On the east end of the property sat a carriage house and slave quarters, which housed the nine enslaved men, women, and children owned by Richard Richardson. The Richardsons ended up living in the home for just three years, and during that time, the family was plagued by tragedies. Two of their children passed away, one in 1822, the same year Frances died. Around that time, Richard's bank, the Savannah Bank of the United States, failed and he sold his home and moved to New Orleans. Richard Richardson died in 1833 on the seas while returning home from a voyage to France.The Bank of the United States took charge of the house in 1824 and leased it to Mary Maxwell, who operated it as a boarding house. The next year, Maxwell played hostess to the Revolutionary War hero, Marquis de Lafayette, and his son. Lafayette was in Savannah to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the Revolution, and it was reported that he even gave a speech on the balcony.In 1830, George Owens, a prominent attorney from Savannah, purchased the home for $10,000 at auction. Owens would go on to be the mayor of Savannah, a state senator and representative, and then a United States congressman. The Owens family made a few changes to the home before moving in, adding three rooms to the second story at the back of the house. The family resided in the home during the winter months and lived in their homes in Philadelphia, New York, Europe, and north Georgia in the summer. During the time the Owens family lived in the house, they kept around nine to fifteen enslaved people. Upon the death of Owens' granddaughter, Margaret Gray Thomas, in 1951, the house was transferred to the Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences and, in 1954, it opened as a museum.In addition to touring the main house, visitors also may view the Carriage House, the beautiful Parterre Garden, and the Butler's Pantry. On the north half of the building, the Slave Quarters can be found. A two story building, three rooms were placed on each level and around nine to fifteen enslaved people lived there from 1819 to the Civil War. After that time period, this building became a servants' quarters, the overwhelming majority of servants being African Americans. The Owens-Thomas House also holds priceless decorative arts that date from 1790 to 1840 and either were made in England, the United States, or France. The Owens-Thomas House and Slave Quarters is a priceless piece of architecture in one of the most historic areas in the South, telling the story of prominent Southern families and the enslaved people who built and ran it.

The Owens-Thomas House &amp; Slave Quarters was built in 1819 for successful cotton merchant and banker, Richard Richardson and his wife, Francis Bolton. It was designed by the English architect William Jay, one of the first trained architects in the country. He designed the house in the English Regency style and it features many interesting architectural elements such as curved walls and doors, indirect lighting in the drawing room, a bridge in the upstairs hall, and one of the finest staircases in the South. Today the house is one of three buildings that comprise the Telfair Museum, the oldest public art museum in the South. It features a decorative arts collection consisting of Owens family furnishings as well as American and European objects dating from 1790-1840. Behind the house are an English-themed garden and one of the earliest intact urban slave quarters in the South.

Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters

Isaiah Davenport was a master builder from New England and learned carpentry through an apprenticeship in New Bedford Massachusetts. From 1809 to 1827, Davenport was an extremely successful&nbsp;master builder in the port city of Savannah, Georgia. There were silhouettes of Davenport's family members in his home, however, there are no artifacts describing what he may have&nbsp;looked like, therefore Davenport lives on through his unique&nbsp;architecture. This house served as his home, office, business card, and advertisement, as it was one of the largest and most exquisite&nbsp;homes in Savannah when it was built in 1820. A local architectural historian was quoted as saying, "there was a Davenport house on every block of Savannah."1 Davenport resided in the home until his death in 1827. After his death, Davenport's wife, Sarah, converted the home into a boarding house. Sarah lived in this home until 1840, and when she passed the home was sold to the Baynard family from South Carolina. The Davenport home stayed in the Baynard family until the late 1940s and had become run down from its use as a boarding home. In the 1930s the home was measured&nbsp;by the Historic American Buildings Survey. However, it faced demolition in 1955 due to the&nbsp;trend of destroying old buildings in Savannah, Georgia&nbsp;and converting the space into parking lots or shopping malls in in the 1950s. One woman,&nbsp;Anna Colquitt Hunter, was not going to let that happen to the Davenport House.2 Anna Colquitt Hunter spent the majority of her childhood in Savannah, Georgia and attended Agnes Scott College in&nbsp;Decatur, Georgia where she dropped out of college prior to graduation to get married. Hunter's husband died an unexpected and untimely death, and she was left a widow in her 40s. In order to support herself and her three children, Hunter became a journalist and writer for the&nbsp;Savannah Morning News and the Savannah Evening Press. In 1943 she became a field director for the Red Cross at the age of 51. Hunter was quite the traveler in her 50s as she became the Director of R&amp;R for troops in North Africa and Italy. In 1945 Hunter returned to Savannah and her job writing for the local newspapers, but this time she was a literary and art critic. This position enabled her to publish multiple poems and short stories and become a painter. Hunter's preservation tendencies were born through her art; she painted portraits of historic landmarks in Savannah and plantation culture. She became a true preservationist in 1955 when she galvanized the movement of saving historic structures in Savannah, Georgia, starting with the Davenport House.3 In 1955 Anna Colquitt Hunter was outraged at the destruction of historic structures in Savannah, Georgia. She gathered six women who she knew could make a difference and formed the Historic Savannah Foundation, these ladies are now&nbsp;historically known as, "The Seven Ladies." The HSF raised enough money to purchase the Davenport House before a local funeral parlor could purchase and destroy the historic home, and that was just the beginning of their movement.&nbsp;The Historic Savannah Foundation created a revolving fund that saved many historic structures from being destroyed. Any time they a historic structure went on the market, HSF purchased the building, historically restored it, and placed it back on the market- only to be sold to someone who saw the benefit of living or working in a historic structure. The money made from reselling&nbsp;the structure went back into the fund so that it could be used to purchase more historic structures in need.&nbsp; The Davenport House was the original headquarters for the Historic Savannah Foundation, now located at 321 E York Street.The first floor of the Davenport House was historically restored and opened to the public in 1963, and as the HSF moved to another building, the second and third floors were renovated and opened to the public as well. The mid-1990s held a&nbsp;re-restoration process for the Davenport House to serve a more authentic experience for museum visitors, complete with&nbsp;accurate wallpaper and furnishings that reflect the inventory taken at the time of Isaiah Davenport’s death in 1827.&nbsp;The Davenport House Museum sees approximately 35,000 visitors annually through its guided tours and education programs.4

The Davenport House, built in 1820, was the first building saved by the Historic Savannah Foundation in 1955. Savannah was a seedy city in the 1950s, and many historic buildings were demolished instead of restored during this time in efforts to improve the city. Savannah writer and artist, Anna Colquitt Hunter, formed a coalition with six of her friends to fight a local funeral parlor from purchasing the Davenport House. Hunter and her friends successfully raised the funds needed to purchase the Davenport House and saved it from demolition. The seven ladies of the Historic Savannah Foundation formed a revolving fund so they could save any historic structure that faced the fate of demolition. Today the Davenport House has been preserved and now serves as a house museum.

The Isaiah Davenport House

Located in the heart of Savannah for the family Kehoe family and their ten children, this historic house has been well-preserved and in the historical part of the Columbia Square neighborhood. William Kehoe arrived in America at the age of ten when his family immigrated from Wexford, Ireland in 1842. Growing up in the Old Fort District, William apprenticed at an iron foundry and rose to the position of foreman. Eventually, William purchased the foundry and later created a new foundry near the riverfront which became one of Savannah’s most successful businessmen. In 1868, William met and married Anne Flood. With a successful business and a fast-growing family, William purchased this lot of land across from their first home in Columbia Square for $950. Designed by DeWitt Bruyn for William Kehoe and his growing family of 12, this home was built for $25,000 and was finally completed by May 1892. The family stayed in the Kehoe family until 1930 when it was sold in an estate sale. Three decades later, the property was home to a boarding school, then the Goette Funeral Home. In 1980, Joe Namath purchased the home for $80,000 with the desire of turning it into a nightclub and disco. This plan led to opposition among residents of Columbia Square, and Namath responded by remodeling the home and selling the restored property for $350,000. The new owners of the home continued the work of restoration for two years before opening a bed and breakfast. In 2003 HLC Hotels purchased the property and continues to operate the bed and breakfast. The home has a reputation for paranormal activity, with locals and guests sharing stories of being visited by the haunted spirits of the Kehoe family. The family lost their twin boys after they were playing and fell into the home's chimney., and guests have reported the sounds of footsteps that sound like children running up and down the halls of the home. Guests have also claimed to see their ghost in the second-floor bedrooms or to hear young voices even though the bed and breakfast is only open to adult guests. The Queen Anne-style home features brass and marble chandeliers, two fireplaces, a courtyard garden, music rooms as well as Victorian-era antiques. This home now serves as a bed and breakfast for adult guests with thirteen guest rooms, and two include private balconies overlooking Savannah.

Located in the heart of Savannah, this historic home was constructed for the family of William Kehoe starting in the late 1880s. The home was completed in May of 1892 at a cost of $25,000, and Kehoe and his descendants lived in the home until 1930. In the years that followed, the home was used as a boarding school, a funeral home, and was even the property to quarterback Joe Namath from 1980 to 1992. In recent years, the home has served as a bed and breakfast. 

The Kehoe House 

<div>Established in 1750,&nbsp;Colonial Park Cemetery grew to six acres by&nbsp;1789 and remains that size today.&nbsp;The cemetery is the oldest cemetery in Savannah, and&nbsp;no one has been buried there since 1853. The cemetery was the primary&nbsp;cemetery&nbsp;used by the residents from 1750 to 1853, after which point Laurel Grove Cemetery became the city's main cemetery.</div><div>The cemetery is the final resting place for&nbsp;Button Gwinnett, a signer of&nbsp;the&nbsp;Declaration&nbsp;of Independence. Major General&nbsp;Nathaniel&nbsp;Greene was also interned here in&nbsp;1786, although his&nbsp;remains were moved from the Graham family vault to the&nbsp;Nathaniel&nbsp;Greene Monument in Johnson&nbsp;Square. &nbsp;</div><div>An epidemic of&nbsp;Yellow Fever caused 700 to be&nbsp;interned&nbsp;at the cemetery in the early 1820s. In the final years of the&nbsp;Civil War, Union soldiers used Colonial Park Cemetery as a campsite. During this time,&nbsp;some of the soldiers decided to have a little fun, altering headstones by&nbsp;carving different dates into some of&nbsp;the headstones. Today, visitors often enjoy searching for these altered&nbsp;gravestones.</div>

Colonial Park Cemetery is best-known for its iconic iron fences and role as the final resting place for veterans and leading citizens of early Savannah. The cemetery contains ten thousand graves and visitors to the city often tour the cemetery to see its monuments and memorials. 

Colonial Park Cemetery

<div>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In 1896, the building of the Cathedral was finally finished.&nbsp; The Cathedral was finished with a brick structure that was stuccoed and whitewashed. The building was completed by Reverend Thomas A. Becker. The Cathedral was beautiful and could easily hold 1,000 people. However, two short years after the Cathedral was built, a devastatingly event occurred. A fire occurred on February 6, 1898, and it destroyed the Cathedral. All that was left were outside walls and&nbsp; two spires. &nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Although the fire was devastating, the Cathedral was soon rebuilt. On December 24, 1899, the new Cathedral was finished and the parish had their first mass. The mass was celebrated and lead by the seventh bishop of Savanna, Benjamin Keiley. However, it took thirteen more years until the interior design of the Cathedral was finished. The stained glass&nbsp;windows in the Cathedral were done by, Innsbruck Glassmakers of the Austrian Tyrol. The murals were created by, Christopher Murphy.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Renovation did not occur again until the years between 1959 and 1953. The Cathedral would now have an entrance plaza, lighting upgrades, and heating and cooling. The renovation was decided and directed by Reverend Thomas J. McDonough.&nbsp; Next, Reverend Raymond W. Lessard, the twelfth bishop of Savannah decided to make some changes. He decided to close the church until the decaying timber foundations were fixed. Lessard wanted to replace the timber with concrete. &nbsp;This happened in the year of 1984-1985. Shortly after these changes, many more occurred. Reverend J. Kevin Boland, the thirteenth bishop of Savannah, wanted to do many changes to the Cathedral. The changes included, paint scheme, murals, stained glass, stations of the Cross, new paint, and a new roof. These changes took until November 2000.&nbsp; Today, the Cathedral is welcomed to guests, and guests can even take tours to see this beautiful Cathedral.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div>

The colonial charter of Savannah prohibited Roman Catholics from settling in Savannah. This prohibition faded shortly after the American Revolution. French Catholics established the first church in 1799 when they arrived from Haiti after slave rebellions began on that Caribbean island in 1791. A second church was dedicated in 1839 as the number of Catholics increased in Savannah. Construction began on the new Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in 1873 and was completed with the addition of the spires in 1896. 

Cathedral of St. John the Baptist

Sherman finally succeeded in his plan to capture
Atlanta in late July 1864. However, his goal was not complete. Sherman’s
mission was to cut all the Confederate supply lines to and from the city,
thereby preventing any aid – supplies, medical, reinforcements – from easily
reaching the Confederate forces in Tennessee and Virginia. His proposal to
remedy this: march with part of his own forces to the port city, Savannah,
nearly 300 miles away to capture it as well. 
 Moving deeper still beyond Atlanta and further into
the heart of enemy territory, Sherman and his men left nothing to chance. They
lived mostly off the land for this campaign, allowing them to destroy any extra
food or supplies they came across in one of the towns in their path. To prevent
the transportation of goods by rail, the men burned the wooden ties, and heated
the metal rails until they were pliable enough to be bent around trees. Though Sherman
only targeted things that might be useful for as Confederate military effort,
that didn’t leave much safe – corn and cotton crops, livestock, telegraph
lines, private homes, and feed granaries were all targeted equally and were
equally wiped out by the invading Union forces. Upon reaching Savannah
in December 1864, the decision to ransack the city, as Atlanta and other cities
and towns along the campaign trail had been ransacked, was up in the air. Lt.
General Hardee, who had been left with a small army to defend the city elected
to flee with his men to South Carolina, leaving Mayor Richard Arnold to
surrender the city into Sherman’s hands. On the 22nd of December,
Sherman set up his headquarters at the Green-Meldrim House, overlooking Madison
Square. &nbsp; While no further damage was done to the city (other than Sherman melting down the clappers of the church bells at the neighboring St. John's Cathedral) the citizens of Savannah and indeed the entire South were terrified and psychologically incapable of maintaining morale for the Confederate Army. The South felt the impact of Sherman's March, even after the war came to an end. Left without a great deal of income due to the complete destruction of crops and livestock, paired with an almost complete overture of the former system Southerners struggled for years to allow their economy to bounce back, which can occasionally&nbsp;still be seen and felt to this day.

Erected in 2014, this historic marker outside the Green-Meldrim House in Savannah, Georgia indicates the city as the final stop on Major General William T. Sherman’s March to the Sea. In 1864, Sherman, who served under Union General Ulysses S. Grant, was given the objective to move against General Johnston’s Confederate forces in Tennessee, which protected the South’s center of industry - Atlanta. Upon his victory in Tennessee, Sherman and his men marched to Atlanta, leaving a wide path of destruction behind them. Though Atlanta had been their original target, Sherman moved his men onward from November to December 1864 to capture Savannah, a major Confederate port city in order to gain full control of the South’s chain of production. This is one of many public markers denoting the impact Sherman’s presence and tactics had both on the city and the South.

Sherman's March in Savannah Historic Marker

The Mercer House was designed by New York architect John S. Norris. Norris built houses, churches, and lighthouses during his time in New York. Construction began in 1860 but was interrupted by the Civil War. It was completed around 1868 by the new owner, John Wilder. No member of the Mercer family had a chance to live in the home. In 1969, Jim Williams, one of Savannah’s earliest and most dedicated private restorationists, bought the then-vacant house and began a two-year restoration. This house is one of the more than 50 houses Mr. Williams saved during his thirty-year career in historic restoration in Savannah and the Lowcountry. In 1981 Danny Hansford, Williams' assistant and partner, was killed in the study and Williams was charged with the murder. In the first trial, he was found guilty, but it was speculated this result was only because he was a gay man. The second trial resulted in the initial ruling being overturned due to contradicting police reports. The third trial resulted in an undecided jury. After four trials he was found not guilty, but he died of pneumonia six months later in the home. The incident was depicted in the movie "Midnight in Garden of Good &amp; Evil" starring John Cusack and Kevin Spacey, who played Williams. The movie was based on a non-fiction book written by John Berendt. The house is rumored to be haunted, because of the home's dark history. Along with the deaths of Hansford and Williams, an eleven-year-old boy named Tommy Downs died after falling from the roof or second story balcony while chasing birds in 1969. It is thought he may have been pushed to his death. The house is now owned by Jim Williams' sister Dorothy Kingery, and it operates as a museum open for daily public tours.

This handsome home was built between 1860-1868 (construction was halted during the Civil War) for General Hugh Mercer, the great-grandfather of singer Johnny Mercer. Mercer never got a chance to live in the house, as it was completed by a man named John Wilder. By 1969 the house was vacant and in need of restoration. Local preservationist Jim Williams bought the house that year and renovated it for two years. The house has been owned by his sister Dorothy Kingery since 1990. It is open for private tours by making an appointment. It features art from William's private collection: 18th and 19th-century furniture, 18th-century portraits, drawings from the 17th century, and Chinese export porcelain.

The Mercer Williams House Museum

It wasn't until 1820 that the congregation built its first synagogue, which was small wooden structure. This building was also the first synagogue to be constructed in Georgia. Before this, the congregation worshipped and gathered in homes or rented spaces. There was also a period beginning in 1742 and ending in 1774 that most of the congregation fled from the Spanish, who invaded the colony as part of a war with Spain. The Jews feared the Spanish would persecute them. Many returned in 1774 and reestablished the congregation.&nbsp; A fire destroyed the&nbsp;wooden synagogue in 1829. A&nbsp;larger brick one was built in 1841. Germans began to arrive in American in the 1840s and among them were many Jews. The increased population of Jews prompted the construction of the current synagogue. The congregation began a gradual shift towards Reform Judaism in 1868 and eventually joined the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. The addition was built in 1957 and later expanded in 2002-2003.&nbsp;

This handsome building is home to Congregation Mickve Israel, the third oldest Jewish congregation in the country. It follows the Reform tradition. A group of 42 Jewish immigrants from England arrived in Savannah in 1733 and founded the congregation in 1735. Most of the group were Sephardic and Ashkenazic Jews of Spanish or Portuguese origin; all were generally poor and looking for a new beginning in the colony of Georgia, which had just been founded a few months before their arrival. The synagogue itself was built in 1878 in the Gothic Revival style and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (the nomination form for this designation does not appear to be available at this time). The synagogue includes the sanctuary and an attached modern museum, administration, and school building. The museum features many historic artifacts on display. The congregation, to which 350 families belong, is still in possession of the Torah the group of immigrants brought over and continues to be used today. 

Congregation Mickve Israel

In 1728, when he was 25, John Wesley was a student at Lincoln College in Oxford, England. John and his brother Charles would constantly try to remain true to their faith. After witnessing this, their peers teased them by calling them “Methodists.” This originally derogatory term is now the name of the Methodist Church. By 1735, John and Charles were established men of faith and wanted to spread the Gospel in Georgia, which was a colony at the time.&nbsp;

The brothers traveled the Atlantic with James Oglethorpe, who was responsible for establishing the colony of Georgia. They came to the Savannah River on February 5, 1736, and stepped on Cockspur Island the following morning. This was also the day that John Wesley gave an unprecedented sermon in America. Wesley and his fellow travelers then journeyed the river again to go to Savannah.

Before long, however, Wesley began to have disagreements with people in Savannah. The disagreements became so bad that he eventually had to stand in court. Eventually, after the situation did not improve, Wesley departed on December 22, 1737. Even though he departed from Georgia in the midst of trouble, Wesley was known to have said that something important occurred there to help establish the Methodist Church. This important event is when several people gathered at Wesley’s home. There is a memorial to Wesley in Reynolds Square in Savannah that is close to where the house was.

The Wesley Monument at the Fort Pulaski National Monument marks the site that John Wesley, the father of the Methodist Church, landed and delivered his first speech in the New World. It can be viewed along a sidewalk close to Fort Pulaski. Wesley was a well-known man of faith when he landed in Georgia in 1736. As a youth, Wesley’s parents, Rev. Samuel and Susannah Wesley, emphasized the need to learn about their religion and to stay faithful to it. At the time of John’s birth, Samuel was even a clergyman at the Anglican Church in Epworth, England.

Wesley Monument

Captain William Hilton explored this area in August 1663, leading to the name which also references the visible headlands as ships approached the island. The island was the site of significant military action during the Revolutionary War due to frequent British raids, and the same was true during the Civil War as the United States Navy utilized its advantages to control much of the Southern coast. The area was underdeveloped until the second half of the 20th century when this lighthouse was built by boosters and developers in hopes of supporting the area's tourist industry. Charles Fraser was one of the leading developers of the Sea Pines Resort on Hilton Head Island, and this lighthouse was part of his vision for promoting tourism. Fraser spoke often of his love for the Sea Pines area, and he worked to blend the construction resorts and condominiums with protecting the unique natural environment. Fraser's plan involved constructing buildings no taller than the tallest tree, painting all structures in natural earth-tones, and preserving trees and other natural features. The Harbour Town Lighthouse was constructed in 1970 as part of Charles Fraser's plan to attract tourists to Sea Pines. Fraser intended for the lighthouse to act as both a landmark and a tourist attraction and reported that he chose to make it red and white to make the lighthouse “fun and memorable” in his words. The interior serves as a self-guided museum with placards on every level that include information about the history of Hilton Head, including the locations of six other lighthouses.

Constructed in 1970, this 90-foot lighthouse was built to welcome visitors to Sea Pines on Hilton Head Island. Rather than being an aid to navigation, the 90-foot, candy cane striped structure is a tourist attraction offering views of Hilton Head and historic photos and artifacts at the base of the structure and along the 114 steps to the observation deck. The lighthouse also includes a gift shop. The structure offers spectacular views of the island and was built by 

Savannah Trip 2024

Bonaventure Cemetery

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information