Spanish Moss

While the Spanish Moss that hangs from Savannah’s majestic oaks is a true reminder that you are in the romantic deep South, it does not make a great souvenir. Often undetectable by the naked eye, a small biting bug called a chigger makes Spanish Moss its home. During the early days of the Colony, residents often stuffed and bounded their mattresses with the soft and bountiful Spanish Moss only to wake up irritated and itchy after the tiny bugs invaded their slumber. As a result, a common phrase emerged in Savannah, and it was – “Goodnight neighbor, sleep tight, and don’t let the bed bugs bite!”

My wife uses the moss for her potted plants but first she "nukes" them in the microwave. Put your Spanish moss in a bag and than proceed.

(Article reprinted from the Savannah Visitors Bureau web site)

Davenport House in Historic Savannah

A must see in Savannah is the Davenport House. This fine Federal-style home was completed by master-builder Isaiah Davenport as his family residence in 1820. Authentically restored, the house museum features original plasterwork, a cantilever staircase and furnishings true to the 1820s. The site also features a courtyard garden that was originally a Bicentennial project of the Trustees' Garden Club and was later re-designed by noted horticulturist Penelope Hobhouse. Threatened with demolition in 1955, the saving of the Davenport House was the first effort of the Historic Savannah Foundation and the beginning of the historic preservation renaissance in this port city.

Savannah River Street

On the bluff facing the Savannah River are nine blocks of renovated cotton warehouses that house about 80 restaurants, pubs, night spots, hotels, shops, galleries, and boutiques. Adding to the sight-seeing is a working harbor of huge, building-size ships and working tugs. Often, sailing ships from various countries are seen plowing the murky waters of the Savannah River. During the day, families stroll alongside the river, eating ice cream cones and browsing in gift shops. At night, people are eating at one of the many restaurants located on the river. Later in the night, Savannah's night life begins as the clubs and bars turn-up the music and invite you in to have fun and enjoy the beverage of your choice.

On River Street, there are several good options for lodging that offer a view of Savannah's main natural attraction (the river), along with quick walking access to River Street, City Market, and the historic squares of the city.

It hasn't always been this way. The city had turned its back on the historic waterfront, which was abandoned and deteriorating when a wide-ranging group of civic leaders joined forces in the early 1970s to create the River Street Urban Renewal Project. When the work was finished in 1977, approximately 80,000 square feet of abandoned warehouse space on the historic waterfront had been transformed into Savannah's most popular tourist attraction. Additional improvements have produced an attractive city park that hosts many festivals and special events.

The ambiance of the waterfront is an atmospheric fusion of nineteenth century old-world charm and twentieth century tourist potpourri. Stony ramps that connect Bay Street with River Street are made of English ballast stones, which gave schooners added stability for their trips from Europe, only to be thrown out and replaced with cotton bales in Georgia. The stones were used in buildings and walkways, and became the foundation of ballast stone islands found today in river channels.

Along the waterfront are three memorials worth closer examination. The first is the Freedom Monument designed to mark the disembarkation site of kidnapped Africans. A second monument is the Waving Girl, a 1971 statue by Felix De Weldon that honors Florence Martus, a Savannahian who greeted every ship entering the port from 1887 to 1931 by waving a cloth from her home on Elba Island . Further to the east is a memorial to the 1996 Olympics, during which Savannah hosted the yachting event.

On the bluff next to Bay Street are the gold-domed City Hall, Factors Walk, and Emmet Park . City Hall was built in 1905 on the site of the Old City Exchange. Earlier this year, the dome on top of the City Hall was re-gilded. Notice the bench commemorating Oglethorpe's landing on February 12, 1733. Factors Walk once housed the offices of nineteenth century cotton merchants. Today, a variety of businesses call it home. Of interest to the historian are the Washington Guns, presented by George Washington when he visited Savannah in 1791. The bronze cannons were captured from the British at Yorktown.

Tybee Island Lighthouse

The Lighthouse has been re-built four times over its history and the most recent rebuilding occurred after the Civil War. The lower sixty feet of the old lighthouse was still intact, and it was decided to add to the existing structure instead of starting from the ground up. The new lighthouse was to be a first order station, consisting of masonry and metal only and was completely fireproof. This is the lighthouse that stands today.The U.S. Coast Guard occupied the Lighthouse site until 1987 when they formed a joint partnership lease agreement with the City of Tybee Island and The Tybee Island Historical Society, which took on responsibility for full maintenance and restoration of the site. The U.S. Coast Guard still maintains the light as a navigational aid.

The lighthouse and buildings set on 5 acres of land and offer daily tours and a gift shop.

A Tree in Ardsley Park - First Suburb of Savannah

I live in Ardsley Park and it is a wonderful place to live and walk around. The beautiful parks and trees covered with hanging moss make this area a place to visit. Washington Avenue is probably the most beautiful street in Savannah and worth the time to visit the first suburb of Savannah.

History:

During the years 1908, 1910 and 1922, plans were taking shape for the construction of a handful of grand homes in Ardsley Park and Chatham Crescent, the city’s first automobile suburbs. These neighborhoods were development simultaneously on open, boggy land on the fringes of the streetcar lines in what was then the southeastern part of Savannah. Surprisingly, Ardsley Park was- and still is- a relatively small subdivision. The idea was the brainstorm of Harry Hays Lattimore, William Lattimore and anonymous partners in the Ardsley Park Land Corporation. No one is certain how the Ardsley name evolved though some have theorized that it was borrowed from a British neighborhood. The area was laid out in grids with squares, similar to the plan used in downtown Savannah by Gen. James Edward Oglethorpe, founder of the colony. The northern and western boundaries of Ardsley Park were marked at Estill Avenue and Bull Street by an impressive looking retaining wall made of Belgian block similar to those used as ballast on ships sailing from England. At key intersections stone pillars with Spanish-looking tile roods marked the entrances to the park. Adjacent to Ardsley Park was a much larger piece of acreage known as the Granger Tract. Owner Harvey Granger was something of a transportation visionary who is credited with paving the first concrete road in the state and finishing the Atlantic Coastal Highway, which ultimately connected the seaboard states with Florida.
The Spanish Revival-style hotel was designed by noted architect Henrik Wallin, who assisted Henry Bacon with New York’s Astor Hotel. Apparently the developers hoped that wealthy Northerners would check into what was to be a luxurious hotel and decide to purchase a second home in Chatham Crescent. Unfortunately, the hotel encountered numerous problems and barely got off the ground. Eventually, Savannah High School (now the Savannah Arts Academy) was built on the nearly eight acres of land set aside for the hotel.
Ardsley Park was designed with tree-planting strips, or tree lawns, between the streets and sidewalks, while Chatham Crescent featured large trees planted directly on the front lawns. More than 5,000 trees were planted in Chatham Crescent under the direction of Henri Bignault, a landscape architect trained at the Ecole de Beaux Arts.

General Oglethorpe Monument in Calhoun Square

In 1901, the Colonial Dames, the Daughters of the American Revolution and other patriotic associations began to plan for a monument to the colony's founder. The Georgia Legislature allocated $15,000 for the project. The very prominent and well regarded Daniel Chester French and his associate Henry Bacon, were given the commission. French is famous for having also done the seated Lincoln in Washington, D.C.

The statue depicts General Oglethorpe in a heroic pose, attired in the uniform of a British General of his period, with sword unsheathed, point held down. As was custom, it is facing his enemy which, in this instance, is South to Florida where the Spanish were.


The figure of Oglethorpe is bronze and rests on a stepped, inscribed, pink-gray marble pedestal with garlands and pine cones on it. On the corners are rampant lions presenting shields at each corner. The shields show the following:
1. Coat of arms of Oglethorpe
2. Seal of the Colony of Georgia
3. Seal of the State of Georgia
4. Seal of the City of Savannah

Two Italian Renaissance stone benches are on either side of the site. The statue itself is ten feet high. It was unveiled at a ceremony on November 23, 1910.

The Fragrance Garden in Forsyth Park

The other day I was in Forsyth Park and I must admit that I have not wandered off the walking track and boy did I miss something and that is the Garden of Fragrance. It is tucked in the northwest part of the park and right next to the children's playground and let your nose take you there. It is impressive and a wonderful place to set on the benches in the garden and just smell. Anyway, this is what the city states and I quote "The Fragrance in Forsyth Park, Savannah, Georgia was originally begun in 1959 by the Garden Club Council of Chatham County, and was dedicated April 3, 1963. The garden was designed by the late Mr. Georges Bignault, and was his final work as a Landscape Architect.

The Garden is surrounded by wells on three sides, helping to contain the fragrance of the plants and the fourth side is enclosed by the ornamental iron fence. The entrance is particularly enhanced by the handsome iron gates from the Old Union Station. These gates were erected in memory of Frances Smith Littlefield by members of her garden club and friends.

Through the years, the garden began to suffer from neglect and reached the point of needing renovation. This need was answered in 2002, when the Park & Tree Department, in collaboration with the Trustees Garden Club and the Junior League began to renovate the Fragrant Garden. Pressure washing, painting and infrastructure modifications were made, and new plant materials were installed. The Trustees Garden Club has provided an endowment of $5000 for future upkeep of the gard

Thunderbolt, GA

Just a few miles from Historic Savannah and on your way to the beach is the town of Thunderbolt. This quaint little town of about 3000 people sets on the west side of the Intercoastal Waterway and has great views of the boats going up and down the waterway. The are shrimp boats tied-up to fish processing plants that are very visible from the main street that goes through the town. On the far southside of the town is a large yacht repair facility and a you can see how the really rich live. There are some great “drinking and eating” places to grab a cold drink and a sandwich and one of the local favorites is Tubby’s. Thursday night is the night to find a date for the weekend…Good music, nice atmosphere and a beautiful view of the waterway directly across the street.

Midway, Georgia - a Colonial Beauty

Midway is located in Liberty County, Georgia on Highway 17 between Savannah and Darien and has a long and distinguished history. English Puritans founded the Midway Society on August 28, 1754 in a log meeting house on Midway Neck. The Midway Society was a strongly religious Congregationalist group. These Puritans migrated to St. John's Parish, Georgia from Dorchster, South Carolina (near Charleston) in 1752 and established a new Dorchester and another nearby settlement what was later to become the Midway Community. In 1752 the Council of Georgia granted the settlers 31,950 acres primarily because colonial officials wanted a large number of settlers there to protect them from the Creek Indians. The original settlers where primarily rice planters and developed a strong agricultural economy.

The settlers in this area were very political and took an early stand for independence. In May of 1775, Lyman Hall (a Midway Church member) was sent to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia as a delegate from the parish of St. John. A year later Hall and St. John's Parish resident Button Gwinnett (along with George Walton of Augusta) signed the Declaration of Independence. Another Midway resident, Nathan Brownson, served in the Continental Congress from 1776 to 1778, but was absent from the Signing. Click one of the following buttons to download copies of the Declaration and other Charters of Freedom!


In 1777 St. John's Parish, St. Andrew's Parish, and St. James' Parish combined to become Liberty County. Because St. John's Parish was the first in Georgia to vote for liberty, the new county created was given the name Liberty.

Historic landmarks include the Midway Church and Cemetery and Midway Museum (collectively known as the Midway Historic District).

Established in 1752, the Midway Congregational Church building was destroyed during the Revolutionary War. The present building (which still stands) was completed in 1792. The religious welfare of the slaves was given high consideration. The "colored" members of the church worshipped with whites throughout the entire existence of the church. On Sundays, the two races worshipped together, with the blacks in the galleries and the whites in the pews below. Every April, the Midway Society conducts an annual service commemorating the town's settlement. The Church and the adjacent cemetery were placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. Among those buried here are Daniel Stewart and James Screven, two American Generals of the Revolutionary War. In the center of the cemetery there is a large monument dedicated to these men. The monument was dedicated in 1915.

The Midway Museum (located on Highway 17) is home to documents, exhibits, and furnishings which commemorate and affirm the love of Liberty which distinguishes the Midway Society from the Colonial period through it's last meeting in December, 1865. The Midway Museum is Georgia's only colonial museum.

Bonaventure Cemetery

Bonaventure Cemetery was developed on the historically-significant site of Bonaventure Plantation. The peaceful setting rests on a scenic bluff of the Wilmington River, east of Savannah. The site was purchased for a private cemetery in 1846 and became a public cemetery in 1907. Citizens and others can still purchase interment rights in Bonaventure. This charming site has been a world famous tourist destination for more than 150 years due to the old tree-lined roadways, the many notable persons interred, the unique cemetery sculpture and architecture, and the folklore associated with the site and the people. The entrance to the cemetery is located at 330 Bonaventure Road and is the largest of the municipal cemeteries containing nearly 160 acres. The cemetery is open to the public daily from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and there is no admission fee. The famous statue of the Bird Girl that is on the cover of “Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil” was originally in the cemetery but because of the threat of having the statue destroyed or stolen, the statue was moved and is currently on display in the Telfair Art Museum.

Savannah City Market

If you are visiting the historic city of Savannah, a must place to visit and enjoy is City Market. This rectangular space is truly a market. You find quaint gift shops, artist studios, fun bars, many fine dining options and even a pizza shop and an ice cream store. There is always something for all of us kids.

City Market is almost as old as the city itself and in early beginnings of Savannah, the city market was the central place to meet and discuss the events of the day. The market was truly market and the products produced in and around Savannah could be purchased in the Market. Time moved on and the market became less popular when air-conditioning was discovered and shoppers left to find these cool places. If you have ever been in Savannah in July and August, you can appreciate the importance of air-conditioning. While the market decreased in commerce and popularity it still stood as a welcome center and a symbol of the history of Savannah. Fires and other natural events would take its toll on the market but it survived to be rebuilt again on the same ground.

Today, City Market is the soul of Savannah because it represents the art, culture and diversity of this wonderful city. Live entertainment in the market courtyard is just one added attractions and the setting benches make just “sitting awhile” and watching the people, horse driven carriages and trolley cars circle the square a treat.

Nearby, is the oldest Black American Church in Georgia and a must see and other interesting places that surround the city market. Take a tour or just get a map and venture off to continue your visit to the “jewel of the south”.

Visit City Market at www.savannahcitymarket.com

Crosswinds Golf Club - A Championship Course

As an avid golfer but not a very good one I enjoy and appreciate playing on a course that allows me to have fun but still challenges me to make a good shot. Crosswinds is the course that makes it happen! This well-maintained course is not only a joy to play but they go out of their way to help you along with their GPS system installed on every cart that makes reading distances as easily as it can be. The lush greens invite you to make the putt and if you read the roll correctly it will fall.

Crosswinds has a practice green, a nicely stocked pro shop, a first class dining facility and a comfortable bar. Have a drink either inside or enjoy their raised deck to just relax.

Crosswinds also is the only course in the Savannah area that has a lighted 9 hole par 3 course that invites the family to enjoy playing together and have fun.

I should mention that the course is conveniently located near the Savannah airport and many new and modern motels and inns. Since the club is located just off a major highway (I-95) it is easy to get there from anywhere you are staying in Savannah or nearby Hilton Head.

Try Crosswinds and you will agree that it is clearly the place to play golf and enjoy the other services they provide.

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The African-American Families Monument

The African American Monument was erected on Rousakis Plaza/River Street on July 27, 2002. The monument is an 11-12' high bronze monument which depicts a black family caught in a tight embrace with broken shackles at their feet.

The Monument is to commemorate and honor contributions of African Americans to the cultural, social, educational, economic and spiritual life of the Savannah community.

The inscription, by poet Maya Angelou, reads:

"We were stolen, sold and bought together from the African continent. We got on the slave ships together. We lay back to belly in the holds of the slave ships in each others excrement and urine together, sometimes died together, and our lifeless bodies thrown overboard together. Today, we are standing up together, with faith and even some joy."

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