Pirates' House is a historic restaurant and

tavern A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern that h ...

established in 1794 located in downtown

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

, United States. A portion of the structure, known as the

Herb House The Herb House is a historic building located in downtown Savannah, Georgia, United States. Some sources claim it to be built in the 18th century (1733 or 1734), which would have made it the oldest extant building in the state of Georgia; howev ...

, was built in 1853.Historic Building Map: Savannah Historic District
– Historic Preservation Department of the Chatham County-Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission (November 17, 2011), p. 116 The structures either side of it developed between 1794 and 1871. The modern restaurant was founded by Herb Traub and Jim Casey in 1953, and is one of Savannah's most popular tourist attractions.

History

The

was built on a ten-acre plot of land located on the east side of

James Oglethorpe James Edward Oglethorpe (22 December 1696 – 30 June 1785) was a British soldier, Member of Parliament, and philanthropist, as well as the founder of the colony of Georgia in what was then British America. As a social reformer, he hoped to re ...

's original plan of the city of Savannah. The plot of land was assigned to become a botanical garden that modeled the Chelsea Botanical Garden in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England. The garden, which was located beyond the bounds of today's buildings, was dedicated to Oglethorpe's trustees, becoming known as the Trustees' Garden. Oglethorpe recruited botanists from around the world to acquire plants for the project, such as

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

spices A spice is a seed, fruit, root, Bark (botany), bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garni ...

indigo Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', m ...

and

medicinal herbs Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for various functions, including defense and protection a ...

. The garden was hoped to bring success in the wine and silk industries and was centered on growing mulberry trees. The soil and weather conditions of Georgia were not compatible with the mulberry trees and it was not successful with wine or silk; however, it ''did'' distribute

peach tree The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-f ...

s, for which Georgia is now renowned. The garden was also highly successful in growing cotton, which later became a staple of Georgia's economy. A building was built on the plot of land in 1853 to house the gardener who worked there. This building was deemed the Herb House. A hay loft, where the gardener slept, was on the second floor of the building. The first floor was used for tools and gardening supplies."The Herb House is the oldest house, and home to the oldest Ghost in Savannah"
– WTOC

Renovation and ownership

In 1948, Pirates' House and the surrounding land was acquired by The Savannah Gas Company. The building soon caught the interest of Mrs. Hansell Hilyer, wife of the president of the company. She renewed the house museum into the restaurant of the present day. Pirates' House has fifteen dining rooms, can hold up to 120 guests, and serves a variety of southern dishes.

References

External links

Official Pirates' House website
{{Pirates Restaurants in Savannah, Georgia Taverns in Georgia (U.S. state) Treasure Island Pirate dens and locations Robert Louis Stevenson 1794 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Savannah Historic District