The Savannah River is where James Ogelthorpe and his party of English commoners came ashore in 1733, so this area is where Georgia began. The party was met by Yamacraw Chief Tomochichi and Oglethorpe established a friendship with him. The Chief remained friendly with the English settlers and is known as the co-founder of Georgia. He was buried (at his request) in Wright Square with Ogelthorpe serving as a pallbearer.
The London trustees who sent Ogelthorpe to establish the colony had idealistic dreams. They wanted it to be an area where the working poor could re-invent themselves in a new land through their own labor and inventiveness. The Charter did not allow slavery. (Also no Catholics, no distilled liquor, and no lawyers-- Ogelthorpe had his own ideals.) The ban on Catholics was because it was felt they would side with Spain in any war (and Spanish territory -- Florida -- was so close). Apparently, Ogelthorpe just didn't like lawyers and liquor.
Savannah is a vital city rich in culture and history. The well-preserved architecture reflects many periods of its history. The City was is patterned on London, England, with Squares and streets running straight North-South or East-West. There are over twenty squares, most original, some restored.
Two of the original squares are "lost" forever because permanent structures have been built on them. In one ironic twist, the present day Courthouse is built on the square where that original charter (prohibiting lawyers) was signed.
Unfortunately, the colony's original charter didn't really work for too long. Georgia was the poorest of the colonies and the settlers blamed this on their lack of slave labor. So sadly the experiment failed and in 1750 the original charter was overturned. (Sad only because slavery was then allowed, not because lawyers and liquor and Catholics were!)
But there was more to the history of Savanah and slavery. The City was a major stop on the Underground Railroad.
The Country's first African-Baptist church is here. It was where the "railroad" stop was located.
These are some typical scenes from around the historic part of this City.
There are beautiful fountains and sculpture all over the City. One of the most famous statues is Bird Girl, the one that was on the cover of "Midnight in The Garden of Evil". After the movie came out, the statue had to be moved from the cemetary where it was (and which was featured in the book and film). People chipped away at her base for souvenirs. We went to see her in the Telfair Museum, where she now resides, but too bad -- so sad, no picture-taking is allowed there.
Local people have pretty much had it with "that book" and movie and the notoriety it brought to Savannah.
A whole lot of other movies were made here; the bench where Tom Hanks (as Forrest Gump) sat at the beginning of that movie is here.
The waving girl is another Savannah legend. Her memorial is facing the River. She is Florence Martus. The story is that she was in love with a sailor who promised to return to port but never did. For forty years, she stood and waved a white towel (or a lantern at night) at every ship that passed through the harbor. She became a living legend among seamen and when she died in 1943, hundreds of them attended her funeral.
This memorial to one of the early settlers of the City is in Wright Square. It is also the Square where Chief Tomochichi is buried.
We really enjoyed our stay in Savannah. It's a vital, culturally rich city that has done a great job of preserving its history.
We hope we can come back to the area. Next time, we'll also spend some time along the beaches which sound beautiful.