The Hamilton–Turner Inn (also known as the Hamilton–Turner House and the Samuel P. Hamilton House) is a historic mansion in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and 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 Brita ...

, United States. Built in 1873,History
– Hamilton–Turner Inn official websiteHistoric Building Map: Savannah Historic District
– Historic Preservation Department of the Chatham County-Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission (November 17, 2011), p. 51 it is located at 330

Abercorn Street Abercorn Street is a prominent street in Savannah, Georgia, United States. Located between Drayton Street to the west and Lincoln Street to the east, it runs for about from East Bay Street (Savannah, Georgia), Bay Street in the north to Georgi ...

in the southeastern trust/civic lot of Lafayette Square. It is now a luxury inn.

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

native Samuel Pugh Hamilton (1837–1899), colloquially known as ''the Lord of Lafayette Square'', had the mansion built for his family. He and his wife, Sarah Virginia (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Stillings) (1836–1920), "created a social center for the city's elite" with their home. Sarah, his deceased brother's widow, was Hamilton's second wife, whom he married on June 10, 1866; his first, Emma Sprigg, died around 1862, after having two children with Hamilton. Due to Hamilton's work with the Brush Electric Light & Power Company, the Hamilton's mansion was the first home in Savannah with electricity, for in 1883, lights were installed in its salon. The rest of the house was fitted with lights by 1886. The mansion survived Savannah's fire of 1898 that nearly destroyed the nearby Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. This was, in part, due to the

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

roof, which prevented it from being engulfed by the flames. Hamilton died in 1899, in his early sixties. He and his wife, who survived him by 21 years, are buried in Savannah's

Bonaventure Cemetery Bonaventure Cemetery is a rural cemetery located on a scenic bluff of the Wilmington River, southeast of downtown Savannah, Georgia. The cemetery's prominence grew when it was featured in the 1994 novel '' Midnight in the Garden of Good and Ev ...

. In 1915, Dr. Francis Turner (1884–1961)''The Family of Bolton in England and America, 1100-1894'', Henry Carrington Bolton and Robert Bolton (1895) purchased the mansion from the Hamiltons, and lived there with his family until 1926. The home was then opened for boarding and became a home for the nurses of the Marine Hospital in 1928, before the Turner family moved back in during the 1940s. The Turners sold the property to the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in 1965. The latter wanted to demolish the structure to make a playground for their nearby school, but the

Historic Savannah Foundation Historic Savannah Foundation (HSF) is a preservation organization founded in 1955 and based in Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georg ...

stepped in, and the mansion was saved. The home is featured in

John Berendt John Berendt (born December 5, 1939) is an American author, known for writing the best-selling non-fiction book '' Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil'', which was a finalist for the 1995 Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction, and '' The Ci ...

's 1994 book ''

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil ''Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil'' is a non-fiction novel by John Berendt. The book, Berendt's first, was published on January 10, 1994, and follows the story of Jim Williams, an antiques dealer on trial for the killing of Danny Hansf ...

'' as the scene of raucous parties held by its resident Joe Odom."MIDDAY IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL: FANS OF BOOK FLOCK TO GEORGIA"
- ''

Hartford Courant The ''Hartford Courant'' is the largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Connecticut, and is advertised as the oldest continuously published newspaper in the United States. A morning newspaper serving most of the state north of New Haven and ...

'', March 16, 1997"Nancy Hillis, ‘Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil’s’ Mandy, passes away"
- ''

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 Savannah metropolitan area, metropolitan ...

'', August 9, 2016 Nancy Hillis, on whom the book's character Mandy Nichols was based, later owned the property. Three years after the book's release, around the time of the

film adaptation A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...

, Charles and Sue Strickland converted the mansion into luxury suites.

Gallery

File:Savannah Historic District 2 16.JPG, The mansion's

carriage house A ''carriage house'', also called a ''remise'' or ''coach house'', is a term used in North America to describe an outbuilding that was originally built to house horse-drawn carriages and their related tack. Carriage houses were often two ...

References

External links

Hamilton–Turner Inn official websiteHamilton–Turner Inn
–

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton-Turner Inn Houses in Savannah, Georgia Houses completed in 1873 Hotels established in 1997 Second Empire architecture in Georgia (U.S. state) Lafayette Square (Savannah, Georgia) buildings Savannah Historic District Buildings with mansard roofs

Gallery

See also

References

External links