Savannah Historic District, National Historic Landmark
Advertisements
Federal Style House, Circa 1806, Savannah
Savannah Historic District, National Historic Landmark
Filed under -CHATHAM COUNTY, Savannah GA
John David Mongin House, 1797, Savannah
One of just a handful of 18th-century houses remaining in Savannah, the Mongin House (known for a time as the Capital Dwelling House and now known as the Mongin-Carswell House) was relocated here from another lot on Warren Square and remodeled to its present condition in 1964. Mongin (1763-1833) set about building it as soon as he arrived in Savannah from Daufuskie Island SC. He was a successful merchant but records of his industry in Savannah are quite sparse.
The house also served as a hospital during the 1876 yellow fever outbreak and a rectory for Christ Church.
Savannah Historic District, National Historic Landmark
Filed under -CHATHAM COUNTY, Savannah GA
Eppinger-Lane House, 1821-23, Savannah
Built by James Eppinger (1790-1871) between 1821-23, this Federal style home was moved to its present location on Warren Square from West Perry Street. Eppinger later left Savannah for Pike County, in west central Georgia, and served as an attorney, Georgia legislator, and judge. He was the son of John Eppinger, Sr. (1765-1823), a brickmaker and bricklayer who built what may have been the first brick house in Savannah (a public house at 110 Oglethorpe Avenue built before 1764).
Peter Meldrim, who later became a judge, lived in this house as a youth during the Civil War. Judge Meldrim was later the owner of the iconic Green-Meldrim House, which served as General Sherman’s Savannah headquarters.
Photo by Frances Benjamin Johnston, no date, Historic American Buildings Survey, Courtesy Library of Congress
This view was likely made in the late 1930s, when the house was still located at West Perry Street. The front stairs and shortened chimneys are the only notable differences in its appearance.
Savannah Historic District, National Historic Landmark
Filed under -CHATHAM COUNTY, Savannah GA
Horse Stamp United Methodist Church, 1926, Camden County
According to the South Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church, this congregation dates to circa 1814. [The church site lists it as Horse Stomp, not Horse Stamp, but all modern maps and the church signs themselves use Stamp. Either is among Georgia’s most interesting place namesl. First established at a location used as a headquarters during the War of 1812, the name is said to originate from the clearing created by horses ‘stomping’ vegetation. The first house of worship was built of logs and several frame structures followed. The present structure dates to 1926.
Filed under -CAMDEN COUNTY
Catfish Farm Sign, Burnt Fort
I don’t know anything about the catfish farm, but the redbreast and bluegills have been drawing fishermen to Burnt Fort on the Satilla for generations. My father has great memories of fishing here when he was a boy in the 1950s.
Filed under -CAMDEN COUNTY, Burnt Fort GA
Burnt Fort Chapel & Cemetery, Camden County
At least two different explanations of the origin of Burnt Fort can be found in a general search of available sources. One account suggests that South Carolina built a fort circa 1715-25 along the banks of the Satilla River near this location [Georgia didn’t yet exist]. The most interesting evidence, though, centers on Edmond Gray, who came to Georgia from Virginia bent upon opening the “neutral lands” between the Altamaha and Satilla Rivers. He and a small group of followers settled upon a site near here in 1755 and named it New Hanover. As the land was in dispute between Great Britain and Spain, the English sought to destroy the colony to avoid a confrontation with Spain and further rousing the native Creek Indians. In late January 1759, Major Henry Hymes of South Carolina and James Edward Powell of Georgia were dispatched by Colonial Governor Henry Ellis of Georgia to destroy the town. Gray complied and was given 28 days. He ordered the settlers to vacate but some remained and operated a small trading post/fort for a time. It was burned soon thereafter; whether by the Creeks or other force remains unclear. The name Burnt Fort was firmly established at least by 1793, when Captain James Randolph built Burnt Fort Station for his squadron of dragoons charged with protecting Camden County from the Creeks. Whatever the real story, it’s a fascinating chapter of Georgia history and bears further inquiry. I will update as I learn more.
A multi-denominational congregation at Burnt Fort dates to at least 1872, though burials in the cemetery date to the early 19th century. The first church was in use until 1947, when declining membership led to its closure. The structure was abandoned and had collapsed by 1960. Area residents, including descendants of the founding families, came together in 1976 to rebuild the church, which was dedicated on 4 September 1977.
Of special note in the cemetery are are the six crypts of the Hedleston children, dating to the 1850s. Most notable are their winged death head reliefs, such as the one seen below.
A good variety of typical funerary iconography can be found here.
Considering there are a number of unmarked but documented burials here, it would be interesting to know if there was indeed a congregation in the early 1800s to serve the thriving community of loggers and timber workers in the community.
Filed under -CAMDEN COUNTY, Burnt Fort GA
