Savannah’s past can be found throughout its quaint squares, unique architecture and rich culture. Here are six historic spots you must visit to truly experience Georgia’s first city.
Wormsloe Plantation, famous for its live oak avenue, should be on every history buff’s itinerary. You should also visit Factors Row which features antique buildings that once housed cotton factors of Savannah.
Sorrel-Weed House
The Sorrel-Weed House is an exquisite architectural feat, but its stunning facade hides many sinister secrets. Behind its perfectly decorated walls were mental illness and racial abuse which dramatically disfigured its southern charm and turned the manor into a place of horror.
Francis Sorrel was a West Indies commission merchant. With Henry Douglass as his partner, they formed a shipping company which imported goods such as butter, salt, molasses and cotton; but also traded slaves; even pregnant slaves with newborn infants were sold at this shipping company!
Savannah’s history of bloodshed and brutal battles left its mark everywhere – including Sorrel-Weed House. Situated on the site of one of its bloodiest battles – 1779 Siege of Savannah – many soldiers lost their lives without proper burial; their spirits are said to haunt Sorrel-Weed manor until today and guests report feeling as if being choked by something heavy inside it.
First African Baptist Church
If you have an interest in Christian or African American history, this church should be on your itinerary. Its congregation played key roles during both the Civil Rights Movement and Underground Railroad eras; today its resident historian works to educate middle and high school students about its past.
First African Baptist was established by Rev George Liele in 1773 and is thought to be one of the oldest African-American Baptist congregations in North America. Liele had been born into slavery but freed by British after the Revolutionary War; he served as its first pastor.
Current building was constructed during the 1850s using Savannah Grey brick by congregants (free and enslaved), decorated in a pattern similar to a nine-patch quilt and with space underneath its floorboards where escaping slaves could seek refuge during the Civil War. Today it stands as a National Historic Landmark open to public viewing.
Colonial Park Cemetery
One of Savannah’s most stunning historic places, this cemetery features magnolia trees and intricate tombs and markers. As its original burial ground for colonists, it also serves as Button Gwinnett’s final resting place – having died after dueling with Lachlan McIntosh in 1777 after signing the Declaration. Furthermore, Archibald Stobo Bulloch may also rest here, having been murdered at his own home during a yellow fever outbreak in 1820.
Savannah’s Old Cemetery served as both a dueling ground and burial ground prior to the Civil War, eventually closing for burials just 43 years after their last interment and becoming a city park in 1896. Over time it has had various names such as The Old Cemetery, Christ Church Cemetery and Old Brick Graveyard and reports indicate Rene Asche Rondolier is often seen haunting this location.
Cotton Exchange
An iconic building in Savannah that stands out among its neighbors is King Cotton’s Palace, constructed in 1887 during an era when Savannah ranked first as a cotton seaport on the Atlantic and second worldwide. Locals refer to this iconic structure as “King Cotton’s Palace,” designed as an impressive reminder of cotton’s economic importance to Savannah.
The building boasts a terra cotta facade with iron window lintels, copper finials, and copper copings, making it an excellent example of Romantic Revival style architecture.
Factors Walk, an old warehouse district on the river which has been renovated and is a popular tourist attraction, features this building as part of its tourist offerings. Although tours don’t run daily, Masonic fundraising events provide visitors with the chance to explore interior spaces on certain weekends throughout the year.
