Savannah Historic District (Savannah, Georgia)
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The Savannah Historic District is a large urban U.S.
historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...
that roughly corresponds to the pre-
civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
city limits of
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 ...
. The area was declared a
National Historic Landmark District National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...
in 1966,James Dillon (1977) , National Park Service and and is one of the largest urban, community-wide historic preservation districts in the United States. The district was made in recognition of the
Oglethorpe Plan The Oglethorpe Plan is an urban planning idea that was most notably used in Savannah, Georgia, one of the Thirteen Colonies, in the 18th century. The plan uses a distinctive street network with repeating squares of residential blocks, commercial ...
, a unique sort of
urban planning Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...
begun by
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 ...
at the city's founding and propagated for the first century of its growth. The plan of the historic portions of Savannah is based on the concept of a
ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...
, as defined by James Oglethorpe. Each ward had a central square, around which were arrayed four ''trust lots'' and four ''tythings''. Each trust lot was to be used for a civic purpose, such as a school, government building, church, museum, or other public venue, while the tythings were each subdivided into ten lots for residential use. The wards were oriented in a rectilinear grid with north–south and east–west alignment. In a typical ward, the trust lots were set east and west of the square, and the residential lots of the tythings were extended north and south of the trust lots and the square, each tything divided into two rows of five lots, separated by alleys. In the early years of the
Province of Georgia A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outs ...
, the ward organization was in part military, with each ward's inhabitants organized into militia units, and the central squares acting as a gathering point for refugees from outside the city walls. Each year, the Savannah Historic District attracts millions of visitors, who enjoy its eighteenth- and nineteenth-century architecture and green spaces. The district includes the birthplace of
Juliette Gordon Low Juliette Gordon Low (October 31, 1860 – January 17, 1927) was the American founder of Girl Scouts of the USA. Inspired by the work of Lord Baden-Powell, founder of Boy Scouts, she joined the Girl Guide movement in England, forming her own g ...
(founder of the Girl Scouts of the United States of America, see
Juliette Gordon Low Historic District Juliette Gordon Low Historic District consists of three buildings—the Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace (also known as Wayne-Gordon House, First Girl Scout Headquarters, which was the carriage house for the Andrew Low House, converted for use by ...
), the
Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences The Telfair Academy is a historic mansion at 121 Barnard Street in Savannah, Georgia. It was designed by William Jay and built in 1818, and is one of a small number of Jay's surviving works. It is one of three sites owned by Telfair Museums. Or ...
(one of the South's first public museums), the First African Baptist Church (the oldest African American Baptist congregation in the United States), Temple Mickve Israel (the third-oldest synagogue in America), the Central of Georgia Railway roundhouse complex (the oldest standing antebellum rail facility in America), Christ Church (the Mother Church of Georgia), the old Colonial Cemetery, Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Old Harbor Light, and Factors Row, a line of former cotton warehouses, along its waterfront, some built from ships' ballast stones. Other buildings in the district include the
Isaiah Davenport House The Isaiah Davenport House is a historic home in Savannah, Georgia, United States, built in 1820. It has been operated as a historic house museum by the Historic Savannah Foundation since 1963. The house is located at 324 East State Street, in t ...
, the Green-Meldrim House, the
Owens–Thomas House The Owens–Thomas House & Slave Quarters is a historic home in Savannah, Georgia, that is operated as a historic house museum by Telfair Museums. It is located at 124 Abercorn Street, on the northeast corner of Oglethorpe Square. The Owens–Th ...
, the
William Scarbrough House William Scarbrough House is a historic house in Savannah, Georgia. Built in 1819, and subjected to a number later alterations, it is nationally significant as an early example of Greek Revival architecture, and is one of the few surviving Americ ...
, the Sorrel–Weed House, and the United States Customhouse. Notable green spaces in the district include Savannah's 22 squares, the 30-acre
Forsyth Park Forsyth Park (formerly known as the Military Parade Ground)''Charles Seton Henry Hardee's Recollections of old Savannah'', Martha Gallaudet Waring, ''The Georgia Historical Quarterly'', JSTOR (1929), p. 34 is a large city park that occupies in ...
(at the southern limit of the district), and Emmet Park, part of The Strand, near the city's riverfront, in what was known as the Old Fort neighborhood."Five key Irish contributors to Savannah’s history, heritage"
- ''
Savannah Morning News The ''Savannah Morning News'' is a daily newspaper in Savannah, Georgia. It is published by Gannett. The motto of the paper is "Light of the Coastal Empire and Lowcountry". The paper serves Savannah, its metropolitan area, and parts of South ...
'', March 6, 2019


Gallery


See also

*
Savannah Victorian Historic District The Savannah Victorian Historic District is a historic district in Savannah, Georgia. It is mostly residential in character and features Late Victorian, Queen Anne, and other architectural styles. The district, which is not part of the Savan ...
* Points of interest in Savannah, Georgia * List of National Historic Landmarks in Georgia *
National Register of Historic Places listings in Chatham County, Georgia This is a list of properties and districts in Chatham County, Georgia that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of ...


References


External links

* *
Savannah Historic District Illustrated Map
at
Historic American Buildings Survey Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...

Official Savannah info regards the district
{{Authority control * National Historic Landmarks in Savannah, Georgia Geography of Savannah, Georgia Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state) National Register of Historic Places in Savannah, Georgia