Florence Martus statue in Savannah, August 2016

Florence Margaret Martus (August 7, 1868 – February 8, 1943), also known as "the Waving Girl", took it upon herself to be the unofficial greeter of all ships that entered and left the

Port of Savannah The Port of Savannah is a major United States of America, U.S. seaport located at Savannah, Georgia, Savannah, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As of 2021, the port was the third busiest seaport in the United States. Its facilities for oceangoing ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, between 1887 and 1931. A few years after she began waving at passing sailors, she moved in with her brother, a light keeper, at his small white cottage about five miles up the river from Fort Pulaski. From her rustic home on

Elba Island Elba ( it, isola d'Elba, ; la, Ilva) is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano National ...

, a tiny piece of land in the

Savannah River The Savannah River is a major river in the southeastern United States, forming most of the border between the states of South Carolina and Georgia. Two tributaries of the Savannah, the Tugaloo River and the Chattooga River, form the norther ...

near the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, Martus would wave a handkerchief by day and a lantern by night. According to legend, not a ship was missed in her forty-four years on watch. A statue of Martus by the sculptor

Felix de Weldon Felix Weihs de Weldon (April 12, 1907 – June 3, 2003) was an American sculptor. His most famous pieces include the United States Marine Corps War Memorial (Iwo Jima Memorial, 1954) in the Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, US, and the Mal ...

has been erected in Morrell Park on the historic riverfront of

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...

Early life

Martus was born on August 7, 1868, in

Cockspur Island Cockspur Island is an island in the south channel of the Savannah River near Lazaretto Creek, northwest of Tybee Island, Georgia, United States. Most of the island is within the boundaries of Fort Pulaski National Monument. The island was so n ...

, near Savannah. She was the daughter of German-born Civil War veteran John H. Martus and Rosanna Cecilia Decker.''Priest recalls Masses he said at aunt’s Elba Island Home''
– ''Southern Cross'', p. 3, August 18, 2005 She had five siblings: Catherine, Annie, Charles, George and Mary. John Martus was an ordnance sergeant at

Fort Pulaski A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

on Cockspur Island. Following her father's death (by 1890), the family moved to Savannah. They returned to Elba Island when George became keeper of the Elba and South Channel lights.

Legends

Many legends endure about Martus, notably the following: * The reason she greeted ships was because as a young girl, she had fallen in love with a sailor and wanted to be sure he would find her when he returned.Legendary Lighthouses: Great Lighthouses-South Atlantic
at www.pbs.org When, after 44 years, he did not, she died of a

broken heart Broken heart (also known as a heartbreak or heartache) is a metaphor for the intense emotional stress or pain one feels at experiencing great and deep longing. The concept is cross-cultural, often cited with reference to unreciprocated or lost ...

. * Sailors would bring her gifts. * When the captain of the ship that brought her memorial statue to Savannah arrived, he refused to accept payment because of his fond memories of Martus.

Personal life

When her brother, George, retired, they both moved to Bona Bella in Savannah, with the mayor of Savannah officially welcoming them to the city.

Death

Martus died on February 8, 1943, aged 74. After a service at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, she was buried in a family plot at Laurel Grove North Cemetery.

Legacy

On September 27, 1943

Liberty ship Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Mass ...

SS ''Florence Martus'' was named in her honor. In 1999, the city of Savannah named its

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

service the ''Savannah Belles Ferry'' after five of Savannah's notable women, including Florence Martus.^{0/sup>

The Waving Girl historical marker was officially dedicated in 1958 and is located near the visitor center at Fort Pulaski.

Notes

External links

Savannah Online article

The Waving Girl
historical marker

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martus, Florence
1868 births
1943 deaths
People from Savannah, Georgia
People from Chatham County, Georgia}