A Brief History About Savannah, Georgia

Savannah is the oldest town in Georgia and has a long and colorful history that attracts millions of visitors every year. It is referred to as the “Hosting City of the South.” From cobblestone streets and public parks to some of the most unique architecture of Antebellum in the South, Savannah is an old beauty that has aged with grace. The plan was to provide a new start for the working poor of England and to strengthen the colonies by increasing trade. The Georgian colony was also chartered as a buffer zone for South Carolina to protect it from the advance of Spain in Florida. Under the original charter, individuals were free to worship as they liked and rum, lawyers and slavery were forbidden-for a while.During the Civil War, the city suffered so severe sea blockades that the economy collapsed. “Impregnable” Fort Pulaski at the mouth of the River Savannah was captured by Union soldiers in 1862. The city itself did not fall until Union General William Tecumseh Sherman arrived in mid-December after burning the city of Atlanta and everything else on his “March to the Sea.” path. 

On entering Savannah, Sherman was said to have been so impressed by its beauty that he could not destroy it. On December 22, 1864, he sent a famous telegram to President Abraham Lincoln offering the city as a Christmas gift. Upon settlement, Oglethorpe became friends with the local Yamacraw Indian chief, Tomochichi. Oglethorpe and Tomochichi pledged mutual goodwill, and the Chief of Yamacraw granted new arrivals permission to settle Savannah on the bluff. As a result, the city flourished without war and accompanying hardship, which burdened many of America’s early colonies. 

Savannah is known as the first planned city in America. Oglethorpe laid out the city in a series of grids that allowed wide open streets intertwined with shady public squares and parks that served as city meeting places and business centers. Savannah had 24 original squares; 22 squares are still in existence. Today, Savannah is Georgia’s fifth-largest city and third-largest metropolitan area. It is an industrial center, an important Atlantic seaport and one of the busiest tourist destinations in the south-east. Through wars, fires, widespread disease and the threat of demolition, Savannah remained the cultural and historical center of the South.