What is the history of Savannah Georgia ?

Four generations of Savannah merchants would erect counting houses and warehouses along the river, creating a fascinating group of buildings – called “Factors Walk” – devoted to the nineteenth century cotton trade.

Savannah’s downtown area, which includes the Savannah Historic District, the Savannah Victorian Historic District and 22 parklike squares, is one of the largest National Historic Landmark Districts in the United States (designated by the U.S. government in 1966).

Rich merchants wanted fancy homes and builders and architects were only too happy to comply. Noted among the builders were Adrien Boucher, a builder from New York, Isaac Robins from Maine, John Holden Greene of Rhode Island, Amos Scudder from New Jersey, and Isaiah Davenport from Rhode Island.

Downtown Savannah largely retains the original town plan prescribed by founder James Oglethorpe (a design now known as The Oglethorpe Plan).

Twenty-three-year old architect William Jay arrived in 1818 from London

Savannah was the host city for the sailing competitions during the 1996 Summer Olympics held in Atlanta.

He stayed in Savannah for seven years before returning home.

Savannah was named for the Savannah River, which probably derives from variant names for the Shawnee, a Native American people who migrated to the river in the 1680s.

The buildings that he designed in Savannah are architectural masterpieces and include such homes as the Owens-Thomas House, the Scarborough House, and the Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences. Many others were destroyed over the years.

The Scarborough House was built for William Scarborough, a wealthy English merchant. He and 21 others bought a ship built in New York, a sailing ship with paddle-wheel steam power

This was not the first ship to be powered by steam but it would be the first to make an ocean crossing.

After giving a ride to President Monroe on his visit to Savannah, the SS Savannah sailed for Liverpool on May 22, 1819, a record-beating 29 days and 11 hours. Two years later the SS Savannah was pounded to pieces in a gale on the shores of Long Island.

Savannah would face one of the darkest periods of her history in 1820. On January 11, a fire broke out in a livery stable behind a boarding house off Bryan Street.

By the next afternoon Savannah was in ashes from Bay to Broughton and Jefferson to Abercorn. Two-thirds of the population were burned out of their homes.

Arson was suspected and two Spaniards from Florida were said to have later confessed. Some 463 buildings were destroyed and damage was estimated at $5,000,000.

An earlier fire in 1796 had destroyed 229 houses and 146 outbuildings. Unfortunately, few buildings remain from the early period.

On May 1820, the first the deaths from yellow fever were recorded. By December of that year, 666 Savannahians, over one-tenth of her population were dead.

1820 is associated with the Year of the Yellow Fever, more than 4000 people had died from the fever from 1807 to 1820. Nine more epidemics would follow. In 1856, 560 people died and in 1876, another 1,066 Savannahians died from yellow fever

In January 1861, Georgia became the fifth state to secede from the United States, and in March, a convention at Savannah ratified the constitution of the new Confederate States of America

Local militia units, including the Chatham Artillery, Georgia Hussars, Jasper Greens, Phoenix Riflemen and Oglethorpe Light Infantry, were now joined by colorful new outfits like the Rattle Snakes and Hyenas. Young boys enlisted in the Savannah Cadets.

After the state of New York refused to release a shipment of guns to the South, Georgia Governor Joseph Brown ordered all New York vessels in the port of Savannah seized. In retaliation, a Federal fleet of 41 vessels sailed to South Carolina and landed just 25 miles from Savannah in October 1861.

Federal cannons breached the walls of Fort Pulaski after only a few hours of bombardment, and the Confederate forces surrendered. That would be the last of the fighting in the area around Savannah.

In May 1864, General William T. Sherman began his famous March to the Sea.

Following the tracks of the railroad running from Chattanooga to Atlanta to Macon and Savannah, Sherman and his 62,000 soldiers left a wake of destruction, 30 miles wide and 300 miles long. By December, the Union army reached the outskirts of Savannah.

Touted to tourists as elegant and gracious, Georgia’s first city also has the energy and edge for even the most expert eaters, drinker, and culture lovers. And if you happen to be a person who likes to booze on the go, (i.e. everyone), then Savannah may be your new favorite city.