Do any of you know much on the history of Savannah Georgia?

Question

I was reading an article on the internet the other night.
And I read that most of the houses were built on top of the cemeteries.I also read that a few years ago they found a body in a wall of the house.Can anyone tell me any of the history involving this town?
I think it is a beautiful town and I would love to vist one day.
Thanks for your help in advance.

Answer 1

I think you probably want the horror/ghost stories associated with it, in which case you might be interested in the Marshal House on 123 Broughton Street in Savannah Georgia.
http://www.ghostlytalk.com/node/192

During the renovation of the hotel in the 60s, bones were found below the flooring. It seems that this is where amputations were discarded and in later years an addition to the building was constructed over the site. During the construction process, a larger room was being divided to make a gift shop. A brick wall was being constructed to accommodate this. However, the project was abandoned after three attempts to construct a brick dividing-wall that collapsed three consecutive times. It was well constructed when workers left in the evening. When they returned in the morning, it had fallen down. There was no apparent cause for this, as it was not a supporting wall. Several workmen did not like the area and refused to work there. Eventually, the whole area was sealed off and has not used to this day.


Also, this takes you though a whole tour including the bodies in the walls (because after the yellow fever, there were not enough cemeteries and people had to be buried where they lived.
http://www.travel-travel-travel.com/18plus/Spirited%20by%20Savannah.htm

Of course, aside from all the horror stories, and maybe even because of them, Savannah is a beautiful place to visit and I hope you get a chance to do so.

Answer 2

Founded by James Edward Oglethorpe "for the settling of the poor persons of London". Oglethorpe and his group of 114 settlers arrived from England on February 12, 1733. They landed in Beaufort, SC, then traveled 18 miles up the Savannah River to found Yamacraw Bluff, what is now known as the City of Savannah, the first capital of Georgia after the Revolution. (Oglethorpe University in Atlanta and the town of Ft. Oglethorpe are his namesakes. He also founded Augusta three years after Savannah.)

GA was to be a buffer for the British in SC and the Spanish in FL (there were Spanish missions on the Golden Isles, 3 on St Simon's). Ft. Frederica was built on St. Simon's Island to protect Savannah from the Spanish.

The last of the 13 original colonies, it began as a commercial enterprise (rice plantations, trade with the Indians) where everyone would be welcome — except Catholics, slaves (ban lifted in 1750), and lawyers.

Savannah is home to the first African American Baptist congregation (argues with Augusta), the first orphanage - Bethesda, and has the third oldest Jewish Synagogue in the country (the only one built in Gothic style) and has it's associated cemeteries - which are held in high regard. It was a Jewish doctor, Dr. Samuel Nunez, arrived on July 10th, 1733, with the second expedition (a group of 42 Jews, displaced by the Spanish Inquisition), that helped the original settlers deal with the malaria, yellow fever and dysentery that came with the cutting down of timber to make way for the rice plantations.

The article you may be referring to - "It's not strange in Savannah to sleep on parts of a cemetery. The city's unofficial saying, "Savannah was built on its dead," pays homage to its grave beginnings."
http://www.cnn.com/2003/TRAVEL/10/30/sprj.ft03.hauntedsavannah/index.html

The houses are not built on top of cemeteries, per se. There are "rumors". While it is entirely possible early colonials buried folks in unmarked graves (or what became unmarked graves); there are slave cemeteries had headstones removed but not necessarily bodies - but they are on the historical record. Emmet Park is an Indian burial ground. Savannah was carved out of forest - so burial mounds would have been "obvious" and the settlers were on good terms with local tribes.

Answer 3

well the part of the houses being built on cemeteries might be true but it also depends on when they were built . after the civil war many houses,not just in savvanah were built on top of cemeteries . I had never heard of the body in the wall. Anyway yes savvanah is a beautifull city and you should go and visit . Paula dean has one of the best restaraunts in the city called lady and sons . It has excellent food .

Answer 4

i don;t know really anything even though i live like a couple hours away from there and i have been there plenty of times and know nothing about it

Answer 5

try this link, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savannah_ga