History, In the beginning . . .

On September 11, 1732, General James Edward Oglethorpe and 114 colonist
departed from Gravesend, England on the good ship Anne and arrived at
Yamacraw Bluff on the Savannah River to found America's thirteenth and last
colony, Georgia. The primary reasons for establishing this colony were to
increase trade and to establish a protective buffer between Spanish Florida
and the northern English colonies, especially South Carolina.

General Oglethorpe and Colonel William Bull designed "America's first
planned city." They laid out the settlement in a system of squares which
were used for public services and as meeting areas. Homes and shops were
built on the town lots (60'x90'), while the larger trust lots facing the
squares east and west were reserved for churches and other public buildings.

This system of squares has been designated as a National Historic Civil
Engineering Landmark. Of the original 24 squares, all but 2 survive.
Savannah from the beginning was an important seaport because it provided
commodities grown in the interior settlements and traded with the Indians to
be carted to the city and shipped to England.

Rice, tobacco and timber quickly gave way to "King Cotton" which became the
dominant export crop and for nearly a century, trading in the COTTON
EXCHANGE on Savannah's river front set world cotton prices.

The early colonists embraced the revolt against England, and Colonial
insurgents took the city at the outset of the war; however, in 1778, the
British recaptured and occupied the city for four long years and did not
evacuate the city until July 1782. The famous Polish Count Casimir Pulaski,
the highest ranking officer to die in the American Revolution, was wounded
leading a charge during the Siege of Savannah in 1779. He died several days
later aboard a ship and was buried at sea. The Pulaski Monument was erected
in 1854 on Monterey Square. One of the signers of the Declaration of
Independence, Button Gwinnett is believed to be buried in the Colonial
Cemetery.

Nineteenth century Savannah grew and prospered was seaport and cotton as its
primary export unit 1862 when Union forces closed the port to all but
blockade runners after they captured Fort Pulaski.

Two years later, General Geary accepted the surrender of the city on
December 20th from Mayor Richard Arnold and other city officials. They
petitioned the General that consideration be given to women and children. He
accepted the conditions and entered the city the following day.

General William Tecumseh Sherman did not arrive until the next day and
occupied the home of Charles Green, a wealthy English merchant. His home was
on Madison Square, and is now known as the Green-Meldrim House. General
Sherman established his headquarters in this house and sent his famous
message to President Lincoln.."I beg to present to you as a Christmas gift,
the City of Savannah with 140 heavy guns and plenty of ammunition and also
about 25,000 bales of cotton. General Sherman stayed in this house until he
left Savannah on February 1, 1865. Many of his soldiers camped in Colonial
Cemetery where they passed the time by changing the dates on the headstones,
while the others lived in tents in the squares and city homes.

After the Civil War, cotton again proved to be Savannah's salvation and the
city grew into a major trading center partly do to the Central Railroad and
Banking Company establishing a railroad connection from Savannah to Macon
which was completed in 1843. Despite the destruction and turmoil of the
Civil War, the railroad contributed immensely to economic success of
Savannah. Prosperity continued until the beginning of the twentieth center
but the collapse of the cotton market left Savannah languishing until the
beginning of World War II, when other industries began to develop.

The city almost lost what General Sherman had spared: its squares, its
houses and its heritage. In the effort to reshape the city's skyline,
developers had begun to tear down historic structures. The destruction of
the old vegetable and fish market sparked the founding of the Historic
Savannah Foundation in 1955. The dedication of the founders of the
Foundation saved the Davenport House from destruction and continue today to
be a driving force to preserve and spawn other civic renewal projects.
Today, more than 1,700 or 72% of the 2,358 architecturally and historically
significant buildings have been preserved and the restoration continues

As Anita Raskin wrote in "Sojourn in Savannah" .... "Savannah is America's
Mona Lisa. Gaze your fill, look all you will. (For once it's quite polite to
stare.) You may never fathom the secret of her smile, but like those who
love and live with her, you will know the endless rich rewards of trying."