The research center's collection is impressive. It contains 4 million manuscripts, 100,000 photographs, 30,000 architectural drawings, 15,000 rare books, and thousands of other items including maps, portraits, diaries, and artifacts. There many notable items including the compass and snuff box of Georgia founder James Oglethorpe; records of the Cherokee Removal on the Trail of Tears; correspondence of Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Robert E. Lee, and Girl Scout founder Juliette G. Low. Unfortunately, Mary died before Hodgson Hall before her plans to build it could be put into action. Her sister took up the effort, however, and oversaw its construction and completion.

Hodgson Hall is home to the Society's research center. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Website

The Georgia Historical Society is one of the oldest, continuously operating state historical societies in the South. It was founded in 1839 and has its headquarters and research center here in Savannah but also has an office in Atlanta. The research center is located in the historic Hodgson Hall, which was built in 1876 and named after William Hodgson, an eminent 19th-century scholar and diplomat who could speak thirteen languages. He was also a member of the historical society and served as curator for many years. He married Mary Telfair, the daughter of Georgia Governor Edward Telfair, who made plans for the building's construction after William passed away. Hodgson Hall is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was designed by architect Detlef Lienau, who introduced 



Georgia Historical Society

This extended walking tour of Savannah includes stops at sixteen museums and historic homes that are open for daily tours. The tour begins with the Telfair Academy of Arts and Science and winds its way around Savannah's famed historic districts with stops at art, science, and history museums as well as some of the city's most iconic homes. 

Museums and Historic Homes of Savannah Georgia Tour

Edward Telfair was a Scotsman who settled in colonial Georgia in 1766 along with his brother, William. Telfair was one of the most successful merchants in colonial Georgia as he owned timber-rich land and a water-driven&nbsp;sawmill, and was a prominent slave owner and trader. A patriot in the Revolutionary War, Telfair attended&nbsp;meetings&nbsp;where revolutionaries organized and formed strategies for asserting their independence from Great Britain. Telfair signed the Articles of Confederation and also served on the Continental Congress from 1778 to 1785. He was then elected the Governor of Georgia in 1786, and then again from 1789 to 1793. Edward married Sarah Gibbons in 1774, and together they had seven children:&nbsp;Edward Jr. in 1780,&nbsp;Josiah in 1784, Thomas in 1786, Alexander in 1789,&nbsp;Mary in 1791, Sarah in 1792, and Margaret in 1797.1 Alexander Telfair was left to be the head of household at 29&nbsp;after the death of his father and older brothers;&nbsp;the family's plantations and mercantile operations became his responsibility. The lot where the Telfair Academy now stands was once&nbsp;the site of Government House, home of the royal governor James Wright. Alexander Telfair decided to build the mansion on this lot to properly house his mother and sisters in 1818. Mary was last living descendant of the Telfair family and gifted the mansion to the Georgia Historical Society with requirements that it be made into a museum.1 Telfair Museums is the oldest public art museum in the South, founded in 1883.&nbsp;Today, Telfair Museums consists of three unique buildings: the Telfair Academy and the Owens-Thomas House, two National Historic Landmark sites built in the early nineteenth century, and the contemporary Jepson Center. The Telfair Academy offers classes and workshops, and also provides self-guided tours through the museum buildings.2

The Telfair Academy of Arts and Science is a historic mansion and art museum built in 1818 for Alexander Telfair, son of Revolutionary War patriot and Georgia governor Edward Telfair. In 1875 the last living member of the Telfair family gifted the house to the Georgia Historical Society with requirements that it be made into a museum. The Georgia Historical Society hired German-born architect Detlef Lienau to add a sculpture gallery and a rotunda, and do other renovations. The Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences opened in 1886, making it the oldest public art museum in the South, and showcases two nineteenth-century period rooms and nineteenth- and twentieth-century American and European art from the museum’s permanent collection. 

Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences

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

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)

By the late 20th century,&nbsp;the railway complex had deteriorated significantly. It was once an important center of African American cultural and commercial activity. But the decline in demand for&nbsp;passenger rail service during the mid 20th century plus the fact that the facilities at the complex were&nbsp;geared more&nbsp;for steam locomotives than the newer diesel locomotives led to its demise. In 1992, seeing a place to start a museum, the college bought the building and began renovations that were completed a year later. In 2002 it was named the Earl W. Newton Center for British and American Studies after having received a large collection of British and American art from Newton (it was first dedicated to&nbsp;Virginia Kiah, a member of the SCAD board of trustees and a strong advocate for African American art. Further renovations took place in the coming years before the new addition was completed in 2011.

Housed in the renovated depot building of the former Central of Georgia Railway Complex—which is a National Historic Landmark—the Savannah College of Art and Design Museum of Art focuses on modern and contemporary art. It holds a collection of 45,000 works of art and features 20 exhibitions per year. The collection is comprised of paintings, sculptures, photographs, haute couture fashion, drawings and other types of art. Famous artists represented here include Renoir, Goya and Picasso, Cartier-Bresson, Leibovitz and Warhol. The museum holds one of the largest and most important collections of African American art, featuring works created from the 18th century to today. The building itself integrates the older 1856 structure into a new addition built in 2011. 

SCAD Museum of Art

&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Operated by the Coastal Heritage Society, the Savannah History Museum tells the history of Savannah, GA through a wide range of exhibits. Beginning with the Native American groups that lived in the area to the city’s founding in 1733, through the colonial and Revolutionary War eras to the Industrial Revolution and modern Savannah, the museum explores most aspects of the city’s history. Construction of the buildings used by the Central of Georgia Railway lasted between the&nbsp;1850’s and&nbsp;1870’s; the railway used the buildings until 1972.1 The passenger shed was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.&nbsp;Museum artifacts total more than 10,000.

&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;The museum&nbsp;is located across the street from the site of the Battle of Savannah, which took place in&nbsp;October&nbsp;1779. Several hundred men died defending the city during the American Revolution.&nbsp;Although military matters are prominent in Savannah’s history, entertainment is an important part of the city’s social fabric. Several exhibits explore Savannah’s connection to the world of entertainment. One exhibit features the bench used in the movie “Forest Gump”. An Oscar award presented to musical giant, Johnny Mercer, is also on display. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; One of three museums that constitute Savannah’s Tri-Centennial Park, the Savannah History Museum features a mural depicting Savannah’s history.2 The other museums in Tri-Centennial Park are the Savannah’s Children’s Museum&nbsp;and the Georgia State Railroad Museum. The Coastal Heritage Society also operates Old Fort Jackson. Museum visitors can eat in a former railroad dining car that has been converted into a café.

     Located in the former Central of Georgia Railway passenger shed, which is a National Historic Landmark, the Savannah History Museum explores the city’s rich history. From the city’s founding in 1733 to modern developments, museum exhibit topics range from military history, to fashion, to industry, and to entertainment. Some of Savannah’s notable citizens are featured, such as Girl Scout founder Juliette Gordon Low and the award-winning lyricist Johnny Mercer. Other exhibits relate to Savannah’s war history. Civil War artifacts are also on display including a keg torpedo and items from the C.S.S. Georgia.

Savannah History Museum

Central of Georgia, which was founded in 1833 as Central Rail Road Canal Company but changed its name a few years later, started building the structures in 1851 and continued to do so until the early 1920s. The company did build shops and other buildings in the 1830s but these did not survive.&nbsp;Central of Georgia grew to become one of the largest companies in the South. By the beginning of the Civil War, it owned 229 miles of track, 59 locomotives and 729 rail cars. The war, however, proved detrimental to the company's fortunes. The Confederate government ordered railroad companies to send&nbsp;rolling stock to other companies that transported&nbsp;the most&nbsp;troops and military goods/equipment. The need for passenger service increased as well and this reduced the demand for freight service. The company was able to make&nbsp;profits on passenger service but maintenance of tracks was difficult because they were being constantly used. Additionally, the ravages of the war itself as well as&nbsp;General Sherman's "March to the Sea" destroyed the company's&nbsp;tracks and cars, amounting to 140 miles of track, 14 locomotives, and 97 cars. The company rebounded from the war and started to make profits again from freight service in 1867. It repaired destroyed rail lines and added 1,500 more miles of track. The company started to use&nbsp;diesel steam engines in the 1940s but maintaining and repairing them in the shops at the complex proved to be unsuitable. As a result, the company gradually shifted operations to Macon. In 1963, the Southern Railway Company bought Central of Georgia and finally closed all operations at the complex. The museum opened in 1989 and is operated by the Coastal Heritage Society.&nbsp;

The Georgia State Railroad Museum is housed in the former repair shops of the Central of Georgia Railroad complex, the most complete antebellum train facility in the country. The buildings and the nearby passenger depot and train shed are, together, a National Historic Landmark. Many of the buildings are open to visitors including the partial roundhouse, partial machine shop, tender frame shop, and Blacksmith shop. The roundhouse still features an operational turntable. Several cars and other rolling stock are on display, including the oldest portable steam engine, and there is an even a hand car that visitors can ride. Train rides are also offered. The buildings are also part of the National Register of Historic Places District, Central of Georgia Railroad: Savannah Shops and Terminal Facilities.

Georgia State Railroad Museum

Dr. Ralph Mark Gilbert, who died in 1956, worked tirelessly for civil rights for African Americans. He helped reorganize the city's NAACP branch and help establish over forty branches around the state by 1950. Among his other achievements, he led a Black voter registration drive which helped elect a mayor and city council that strove for reforms, such as the hiring of Black policemen and other city employees. Gilbert was also a preacher, lecturer and playwright of religious dramas. The president of the NAACP chapter after Gilbert, W.W. Law, led the effort to establish the museum in the early 1990s.&nbsp;

This museum chronicles Savannah's civil rights history and honors Ralph Mark Gilbert, a leader in the city and the individual most associated with the city's mid-century civil rights movement. Gilbert served as president of the local NAACP chapter from 1942 to 1950. The museum features many exhibits depicting life in Savannah during the civil rights era, such as the recreation of a local department store that allowed African Americans to shop but not eat at it's restaurant. Other museum exhibits include artifacts from civil rights leaders, historic photos, and a large fiber-optic map showing the site of important civil rights events in the city and nation. Photographs and interactive exhibits are also located in the museum, as well as a book collection for children. The museum is located in a building constructed in 1914 whose first function was the Wage Earners Savings and Loan Bank, what was once the largest bank in the county for African Americans. 

Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum

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

The building is named after Scottish-born Peter Massie, who donated seed money that would eventually be used to build the school. At the time education was given by private teachers and as a result many poor families, especially those in the countryside, could not afford this type of schooling. Massie therefore decided to give funds—$5,000—for the school which he wanted to be free of charge. It operated as a school until 1974 after which point it became the heritage center.

Built in 1856 as a free public school for poor children, the Massie Heritage Center serves as a museum preserving Savannah's history and a gathering space for various community and cultural events. The building, which is the only surviving building of the city's first public school system, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The center features several exhibits exploring the city's maritime history, its growth and development, its historic buildings and the preservation efforts to save and renovate these structures, Native American culture and history, and the classic architecture exhibited throughout the city. There is also an authentic early 1900s classroom with old desks. Outside the building are two garden areas, which used to be separate recess areas for boys and girls.  

Massie Heritage Center

When it was constructed in 1856, Mary Flannery O'Connor's childhood home was only one story. Its design is consistent with Greek Revival architecture. The bottom floor, the living room where the O'Connor family lived, has two fireplaces and "heart of pine"&nbsp;floors on which furniture from the 1930s rests1. A beautiful chandelier lights the room and period lace curtains adorn the windows. In addition, the walls that are painted green with gold gilded borders are the original color and style, according to the tour information. Some of the living room furniture is also the O'Connor family's, including a lounge set and Mary Flannery's baby carriage. Also on the first floor, the kitchen and the&nbsp;dining room&nbsp;have been completely restored. The former has&nbsp;a period stove, kitchen items, and a sink2.&nbsp;In addition, the dining room was rebuilt where the O'Connor dining room once was. The second floor is occupied by two bedrooms that contain twin beds, dolls, and other personal objects owned by the O'Connor family2.&nbsp;Although the bathroom on the second floor&nbsp;was and is extremely tiny, this worked in favor O'Connor who would read to her friends while they sat in the bathtub, with her atop the toilet seat2.&nbsp;In 1993, a walled garden was constructed in the backyard, where O'Connor trained a chicken to walk backwards12. O'Connor was a devout Catholic and the church that she would attend (St. John the Baptist) was right across the square, in addition to the parochial school4. O'Connor could see the church from looking out her window5 Mary Flannery O'Connor was the only child of Regina Cline and Edward F. O'Connor, a product of the marriage of devout Roman Catholic Families in the Savannah area. Her father was stricken with lupus and the family decided to move to Millidgeville, Georgia for his health3. O'Connor's father passed away in 1941 and she was invited to attend the prestigious Iowa Writers Work (University of Iowa) for her graduate degree in creative writing3.&nbsp;She would go on to write some of the most prolific works of the Southern Gothic Literary Movement, starting with her novel&nbsp;Wise Blood&nbsp;in 1952. O'Connor is also known for her short stories and essays. Her collection&nbsp;A Good Man is Hard and Other Stories&nbsp;is considered the catalyst for her literary career. O'Connor would face the same disease as her father, systematic lupus erythematosus, after she had an attack in 1950 and would move to her mother's ancestral farm permanently, quietly living at Andalusia&nbsp;until her death in 19644.&nbsp;Her posthumous collection, The Complete Stories&nbsp;won the National Book Award in 1972 and three O. Henry Awards for short stories3.&nbsp; In 1989, The Flannery O'Connor Childhood Home Foundation purchased the house. In 2006-2007, the home went through a major $100,000 renovation, the majority funded by Jerry and Linda Bruckheimer, and the Bruckheimer Library inside the home that features Flannery O'Connor's work and childhood books, as well as books from the Great Depression period2.&nbsp;The museum hosts events like The Peacock Party, Ursrey Lecture Series, and the free Sunday lecture series.&nbsp;

Famed short story writer, essayist, and novelist of the Southern Gothic literary movement, Flannery O'Connor, lived in this house from birth (March 25, 1925) to 1938 with her family. Originally a single family home, the building now rents out two apartments. The house functions as a museum that commemorates the childhood and early life of O'Connor. Restored to its original appearance from the 1930s Great Depression Era, visitors can learn about Mary Flannery O'Connor's sheltered and quiet childhood by going on a guided tour. The house contains artifacts of the O'Connor family such as Mary's baby carriage, her childhood books with personal notes/criticisms, and photographs. 

Flannory O'Connor Childhood Home

Sherman's words to Lincoln were as follows: "I beg to present you as a Christmas-gift the city of Savannah, with one hundred and fifty heavy guns and plenty of ammunition, also about twenty-five thousand bales of cotton." Charles Green lived in the house until Peter Meldrim bought it in 1892. It remained in the family until 1943 when it was sold to the church.&nbsp;

The Green-Meldrim House is one of Savannah's most impressive historic structures. It was built between 1853-1861 for Charles Green, a successful cotton merchant, and designed by architect John Norris in the Gothic Revival style. It is without question one of the South's finest examples of this style. It is also significant in that served as the headquarters for General Tecumseh Sherman from December 1864 to the end of the Civil War the following year. Soon after his arrival, Sherman wrote a telegram to President Abraham Lincoln informing him that he (Sherman) was giving him Savannah as a Christmas gift. The house is owned and maintained by the adjacent St. John's Church, which uses the house for weddings and other events. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 and declared a National Historic Landmark in 1976.

Green-Meldrim House

Frances' son, Moxley, served with distinction in the Civil War. He was a staff officer to Confederate Lt. General James Longstreet and was a hero at the Battle of the Wilderness in 1864. He was promoted to Brigadier General that same year. Before the start of the war, Robert E. Lee, who would take command of the Army of Virginia, visited the house in 1861. The house opened to the public in 1940 and is managed by the Historic Savannah Foundation. It is also a&nbsp;National Trust Historic Landmark.

The Sorrel Weed House was the first home in Georgia to be declared a State Landmark in 1953. It was designed by Irish-born Charles Cluskey in the Greek Revival and Regency styles and is one of the finest examples of its kind in the state. Its owner, France Sorrel, was a successful commission merchant from the West Indies. It features many interesting architectural elements such as a parapet, elliptical arches, Doric columnns, and an oval-shaped library. Today it is a museum and contains many antique items and furniture. It is believed to be one of the most haunted buildings in Savannah. According to local lore, an African American slave was murdered in the carriage house, which located behind the main house, by a member of the family. The Sorrel Weed House has been featured on the TV show Ghost Hunters. Ghost Tours are given after 6pm.




Sorrel-Weed House

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

Gary's father, James, served in WWII and Vietnam as a member of&nbsp;the Air Force. Being in a military family meant that the Webbs lived throughout the U.S. and Europe. Gary's mother was born in London and was a young teenager when the war broke out. She told Gary stories about what life was like under the constant threat of bombardment; these stories sparked in Gary an interest in history. While they were living in Germany, Gary, who was a boy at the time,&nbsp;started to collect items in woods he explored and he was hooked. It was during this time that&nbsp;Gary's grandfather gave him his old fire brigade helmet. Over the years Gary kept collecting and decided to found the museum to honor the men and women who have served in the military.

Recently opened in 2015, the Webb Military Museum is Savannah's only artifact museum dedicated to American military history. It was founded by local resident Gary Webb to showcase his collection of military-related items that he had collected for the majority of his life. The collection consists of items dating back to the Civil War to Operation Desert Storm. Items include uniforms (of which there are almost 100), medals, various equipment, and hats. Some of the items in the collection originated in Europe.

Museums and Historic Homes of Savannah Georgia Tour

Georgia Historical Society

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information