Savannah is a city in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

Hardin County, Tennessee Hardin County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 26,831. The county seat is Savannah, Tennessee, Savannah. Hardin County is located no ...

, United States. The population was 7,213 at the 2020 census. Savannah is located along the east side of the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is a long river located in the Southern United States, southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. Flowing through the states of Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, it begins at the confluence of Fren ...

. Savannah hosted the NAIA

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

national championship game from 1996 to 2007, and is home to several places of historical significance, including the Cherry Family Mansion.

History

The city's original name was "Rudd's Ferry", named for James Rudd, an early settler who established a ferry at the site in the early 1820s. Rudd's Ferry was later purchased by a wealthy landowner, David Robinson. The city was renamed "Savannah" after

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 ...

, the hometown of Rudd's wife, Elizabeth., January 12, 2011. Retrieved: February 4, 2013.

Battle of Shiloh

Hardin County was the site of the 1862

Battle of Shiloh The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the American Civil War fought on April 6–7, 1862. The fighting took place in southwestern Tennessee, which was part of the war's Western Theater of the ...

(also known as the "Battle of Pittsburg Landing") during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, 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.J ...

. The battleground site is southwest of the city of Savannah. Union General

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

commandeered the Cherry Mansion just off the city square for use as a headquarters during the battle.

Pickwick Landing State Park

Pickwick Landing State Park Pickwick Landing State Park is a state park in Pickwick Dam, Tennessee, Pickwick Dam, Hardin County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States around the Pickwick Lake impoundment of the Tennessee River. It is named for Pickwick Landing, a 19 ...

is south of Savannah. Originally a steamboat stop, the

Tennessee Valley Authority The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States. TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small areas of Georgia, North Carolin ...

bought the site in the 1930s during the Great Depression and constructed a dam and Pickwick Lake so electricity could be generated. In 1969, Tennessee bought from the TVA and made it a state park.

Geography

Savannah is located just west of the center of Hardin County at (35.223674, -88.237011), on the east bank of the

. The CDP of Olivet borders Savannah to the East. U.S. Route 64 passes through the center of town on Bridge Avenue, Main Street, and Wayne Road. US 64 leads east to Waynesboro and west to Selmer. Tennessee State Route 69 leads southeast to the

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

border.

Florence, Alabama Florence is a city in, and the county seat of, Lauderdale County, Alabama, Lauderdale County, Alabama, United States, in the state's northwestern corner, and had a population of 40,184 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Florence is l ...

, is southeast of Savannah via SR 69 and

Alabama State Route 20 State Route 20 (SR 20) is a state highway in the northern part of the U.S. state of Alabama. It travels from the Tennessee state line, where it continues as Tennessee State Route 69, northwest of Florence, east to Interstate ...

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, Savannah has a total area of , all of it recorded as land.

Climate

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 7,213 people, 2,658 households, and 1,622 families residing in the city.

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 6,917 people, 2,915 households, and 1,862 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 3,206 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 89.79%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 8.56%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.22% Native American, 0.29% Asian, 0.01%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.35% from other races, and 0.78% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.13% of the population. There were 2,915 households, out of which 27.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.3% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 15.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.1% were non-families. 32.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.83. In the city, the population was spread out, with 22.4% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 24.3% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 20.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.7 males. The median income for a household in the city was $22,779, and the median income for a family was $29,771. Males had a median income of $26,311 versus $20,219 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $15,101. About 20.7% of families and 23.9% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 28.4% of those under age 18 and 16.5% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Savannah is governed by a mayor and a four-member city commission. It uses the

city commission government City commission government is a form of local government in the United States. In a city commission government, voters elect a small commission, typically of five to seven members, typically on a plurality-at-large voting basis. These commission ...

system with the mayor being elected by the four commissioners. The city commission chooses among its members a vice mayor.

City Commission

Notable people

* John Barnhill, football player, coach, and collegiate athletics administrator *

Stubby Clapp Richard Keith "Stubby" Clapp (born February 24, 1973) is a Canadian professional baseball coach and former second baseman and Triple-A manager who is the first base coach for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played fo ...

, Major League baseball player and coach * Geron Davis, musician and composer * Hank DeBerry, Major League baseball catcher in the early 20th century * Otis Floyd, President of Tennessee State University and the first African American Chancellor of the Tennessee State Board of Regents * Simon Haley, college professor and administrator and father of author

Alex Haley Alexander Murray Palmer Haley (August 11, 1921 – February 10, 1992) was an American writer and the author of the 1976 book '' Roots: The Saga of an American Family.'' ABC adapted the book as a television miniseries of the same name and ...

* W. S. Holland, rock-and-roll or rockabilly drummer for

Carl Perkins Carl Lee Perkins (April 9, 1932 – January 19, 1998)#nytimesobit, Pareles. was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rockabilly great and pioneer of rock and roll, he began his recording career at the Sun Studio, in Memphis, Tennes ...

and

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

Jim Hardin James Warren Hardin (August 6, 1943 – March 9, 1991) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from through , most notably as a member of the Baltimore Orioles dynasty that won ...

, Major League pitcher from 1967 to 1973, World Series champion in 1970 * Tom Hampton, Multi-instrumentalist, session musician, sideman, singer, and songwriter * Bolden Reush Harrison, naval officer and Medal of Honor recipient * Chad Harville, Major League pitcher * Granville Hinton, politician *

Myles Horton ] Myles Falls Horton (July 9, 1905– January 19, 1990) was an American educator, socialist, and co-founder of the Highlander Folk School, famous for its role in the Civil Rights Movement (Movement leader James Bevel called Horton "The Fath ...

, educator and civil rights activist * Vernon McGarity, Army Technical Sargent and Medal of Honor recipient * Elizabeth Patterson, actress in films and on ''I Love Lucy'' * Randy Rinks, businessman and politician * Herman L. Wolfe, Sr., politician *

Darryl Worley Darryl Wade Worley (born October 31, 1964) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Signed to DreamWorks Records Nashville in 1999, Worley released four albums for the label: ''Hard Rain Don't Last'' (2000), ''I Miss My Friend'' (200 ...

, country music performer

References

External links

City of Savannah official website
{{authority control Cities in Tennessee Cities in Hardin County, Tennessee County seats in Tennessee Tennessee populated places on the Tennessee River 1833 establishments in Tennessee