5 days of History and Ghosts: Savannah

I love cities full of history because where there is history there are stories. Savannah is one of those cities with a lot of history and plenty of interesting stories. It is the oldest city in the state of Georgia and one of our favorite cities in the USA.

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Savannah, Georgia Overview

Built in 1733, Savannah is Georgia’s oldest city. This port city has a great vibe, southern charm, historical squares and haunted houses.

Getting Around Savannah
Shopping
Must See Sights
Haunted Savannah
Day Trips

Getting Around Savannah Georgia

Savannah is walkable if you’re staying within the Historic District and River Street. We d didn’t have a problem finding parking in one of the many parking garages. Once we parked downtown we walked just about everywhere else we visited in Savannah.

Besides walking or renting a car you can take a trolley or shuttle in Savannah. For more information on fare free transportation in Savannah visit DOT.

Activities in Savannah, Georgia

Historical Tour
Ghost Tour
Museums & Historical Houses

Savannah’s River Street

Probably the most famous street in Savannah River Street is where Savannah started. The river is why Savannah became the largest eastern seaport.

Today you can still walk on the cobblestone streets or take a riverboat cruise. The old cotton warehouses are now boutique shops, art galleries and restaurants.

River Cruises

You can take a cruise on the Savannah River. Some popular cruises include:

City Market

Less than a half mile walk from River Street is Savannah’s City Market. This open-air market was originally built in the 1700’s. This several block section of the city is home to restaurants, shops, and bars.

Staying true to its roots as a gathering place, City Market is a popular place to listen to live music and for people to hang out.

City market in Savannah ga — City Market

Originally City Market extended to Barnard Street. Unfortunately, one of the main buildings in City Market was destroyed for a parking garage. Since then the parking garage was relocated below ground and Ellis Square is now adjacent to City Market.

For more information visit City Market

Savannah Squares

Savannah’s founder, James Oglethorpe, designed the city in a grid like pattern around city squares. The original 4 squares expanded to 24 squares in the 1800’s. Today there are 22 squares remaining in one-mile radius in Savannah. The remaining squares area as follows:

Johnson
Wright
Ellis (adjacent to City Market)
Telfair
Reynolds
Oglethorpe
Washington
Franklin (adjacent to City Market)
Warren
Columbia
Greene
Chippewa
Orleans
LaFayette
Pulaski
Madison
Crawford
Chatham
Monterey
Troop
Calhoun
Whitefield

Johnson Square

A half-mile walk from the Savannah River, Johnson Square is the largest and oldest square in Savannah.

Forsyth Park

One of the most photographed spots in Savannah, Forsyth park is anchored with a large beautiful fountain. The park was donated to the city in the mid 1800’s. This beautiful park covers 30 acres and often hosts farmers markets. It is also home to Savannah’s oldest tree- the Candler Oak.

Wormsloe State Historic Park

Nature lovers will fall in love with Wormsloe State Historic Park. More than 400 live oak trees line the park entrance. Architectural Digest listed it as one of the most beautiful streets in the world .

The trees were planted in the late 1800’s . Noble Jones was one of the first settlers in Georgia. He built a plantation on the land that is now a historic park. At one time he had more than 1500 slaves.

Today there is a small museum and nature trails. What’s the difference between live oaks and oak trees? Live oaks are considered evergreen. Live oaks drop their leaves right before new leaves emerge.

Sorrell-Weed House

Built in the 1830’s, this Greek-Revival style house is one of Savannah’s most famous historic homes. The home was built on the grounds of the Siege of Savannah in the late 1700’s. Due to the bloody battles of the Revolutionary War and the untimely deaths of the residents of the Sorrell-Weed House it is considered to be the most haunted house in Savannah. I love historical houses – haunted or not.

We have taken both the historical tour during the day and the ghost hunters tour in the evening.

Basement

Did we see any ghosts? We didn’t see any ghosts, however I definitely felt something odd in the basement. What it was I’m not sure. There was a room in the basement where the air felt thicker. As soon as I stepped over the threshold into the room it felt noticeably harder to breathe.

I figured this was an anomality and wanted to test it again. While the rest of the tour went ahead I retraced my steps from the stairs entering the room a second time. I experienced the same feeling of thickness in the air, making it harder to breathe just in that room.

Carriage House

The only other odd thing was while in the carriage house my daughter and I were standing in the back of the group towards what would have been the slave’s bedrooms and I could distinctly smell smoke.

I glanced around to see if anyone else noticed the smell. Everyone else was looking straight ahead listening to the tour guide, with the exception of my daughter who was also looking a little perplexed. I whispered, “do you smell smoke?” and she said, “yes, where is it coming from?” Since we were in the back of the group we could see everyone and obviously no one was smoking in the tour group. I looked out the windows to see if someone was outside nearby, but there was not a soul outside the building. No one else in the group seemed to smell it but my daughter and I.

Sorrel Weed Carriage House in Savannah Georgia

6 W Harris St, Savannah, GA 31401 | Across from Madison Square

For tours visit: Sorrell – Weed House

Owens Thomas House & Slave Quarters

A beautiful stucco home built in English Regency style, the Owens Thomas House was built in 1812. The home is architecturally stunning. The tour includes the main house, slave quarters, walled-gardens and carriage house.

The one-hour tour incorporates the history of the home and the history of the slaves that kept homes like this running.

124 Abercorn St, Savannah, GA 31401 | Across from Oglethorpe Square

For tours visit: Owens Thomas House & Slave Quarters

Mercer Williams House

Across the street from Monterey Square, sits the Mercer Williams House. It was built between 1860-1863. Made by famous by the book, Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil, which documents the murder the owner of the home in 1981 committed.

429 Bull St, Savannah, GA 31401 | Across from Monterey Square

For tours visit: Mercer Williams House Tours

Mercer Williams House in Savannah, Georgia

Dead of Night Ghost Tour

If you’re in Savannah there are lots of ghost tours to choose from. We wanted an adults only tour, so we chose Ghost City Tour of Savannah . Our tour guide was an interesting guy and we really enjoyed learning more about the history of Savannah and it’s haunted past.

Marshall Hotel in Savannah — The Marshall House

Bonaventure Cemetery

Normally, I wouldn’t recommend visiting a cemetery but Bonaventure is the most beautiful cemetery I have ever walked around.

Overlooking the Wilmington River, the 160-acre cemetery grounds are hauntingly beautiful. Everywhere you look are live oak trees dripping with moss over tombstones and statues that have been around for over a hundred years.

statue in bonaventurine cemetery in Savannah GA

If you are a fan of the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil you may want to visit. However, if you’re looking for the famous Bird Girl statue you won’t find it in the cemetery. The famous statue is now at the Telfair Museum in Savannah.

Surprisingly there is an app you can download to tour the cemetery. For more information visit the Bonaventure Cemetery Historical Society You can also take a guided tour of the Bonaventure Cemetery.

The cemetery is 3-miles from downtown Savannah. There are several companies that offer tours of the cemetery.

Bonaventure Cemetery Tours

Fun Island Day Trips

Tybee Island
St. Simon Island
Jekyl Island
Hilton Head Island