With this stay at Skidaway Island just outside of Savannah on the Intercoastal Waterway, we’re back in civilization (more traffic). Nestled among Spanish moss-draped live oaks, this campground is huge with more than 85 campsites and 3 camper cabins. We’ve been in the Savannah area a number of times over the years and are looking forward to seeing another side of this beautiful area.
coffee shop with inside seating!
We (I) haven’t been able to sit in a coffee shop enjoying coffee and a coffee shop’s ambiance since the middle of March. So off we go.
In case you don’t recognize the name, “Moon River” is a song composed by Henry Mancini with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. Originally it was performed by Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s, winning an Academy Award for best Original Song and the 1962 Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Keep on reading for more information.
One morning on Fox & Friends, veteran owners of Black Rifle Coffee were on talking about their company and their products. While driving into town, we saw a billboard advertising this coffee so decided to track down the coffee shop and try it out. Wonder if this is a new coffee option for me?
Clothes and other items are at one end, and the coffee shop is at the other end.
Finally I could get strong enough WiFi to post a blog. It was wonderful to be able to sit and drink a good cup of coffee in a coffee shop again!
As I was walking to the counter, I heard Barney greet this young woman. When I sat down and started to engage her, she said she was studying physical therapy and had her first test the next Tuesday. Since she had her flash cards and I remembered studying that way, I asked her if she wanted me to quiz her on the vocabulary she was learning. Instead she used me as a sounding block as she talked through the anatomy she was working on.
discovering the area
The next morning we put on our walking shoes and took off on the 3-mile trail walk around the state park. Skidaway Island is part of Skidaway Narrows that’s part of the barrier islands on the Intercoastal Waterway. The sign at the beginning of the trail told us what we were going to be seeing.
But it’s the historical features in the park that capture the imagination: shell middens, Confederate earthworks and mortar battery from the Civil War, and remains of liquor stills from Prohibition days.
shell middens
liquor still
If you don’t live in the South, moonshine may be something you only read about in literature. In the early 20th century, however, Skidaway Island was nearly uninhabited and reachable only by boat, so it became a preferred hideout for moonshiners. While business peaked during prohibition, illegal liquor production continued on the Skidaway almost until the construction of the first bridge in the late 1960s.
Just up the road from us in Alpharetta is the NASCAR museum. The history of these race cars comes from moonshiners racing away from revenuers in the north Georgia mountains as they drove toward Atlanta to sell their wares. At the museum, a moonshine distillery is next to it for tasting and purchases. This is the South.
earthworks
The earthworks we’ll be seeing were part of a large coastal fortifications system during the Civil war. While the main entrance to Savannah’s harbor is 18 miles up the Savannah River from the coast, the city was protected by a large brick structure at Fort Pulaski (still closed because of Covid-19), many creeks and rivers south of town, however, provided a back door route for smaller ships.
Smaller earthen fortifications on Skidaway and other islands were meant to guard this approach on the back rivers so equipment and supplies by the Union soldiers couldn’t be moved easily. However, in early 1862, the commander of the city’s defenses ordered these islands abandoned since he thought that the area was too isolated to effectively supply and defend against the Union blockade. That commander—Robert E. Lee—left Savannah soon after to fight with the Army of Northern Virginia.
mortar battery
A mortar is a short-barreled artillery piece designed to fire explosive projectiles at high angle trajectories. This high arc allows shells to be launched over fortified walls and other tall obstacles. Along the seacoast during the Civil War, their primary role was to destroy combatant ships and weaponry, reducing the enemy’s ability to defend itself.
short Big Ferry trail
The next morning we saw our deer friend in the campground looking for his/her breakfast.
Savannah
On Sunday after watching church on TV (thanks, North Point!), we drove about 20 minutes to the heart of Savannah’s historic area. We had taken a trolley ride around the area a number of years ago on Old Town Trolleys but decided to try Old Savannah Tours’ trolley to get another point of view. Harry, our driver, said that drivers with this company get to write their own scripts (to be approved) instead of having to learn a company’s script. We learned so much on this ride, some of which we remember to share with you.
In novels we’ve read over the years we had heard about groups of Jewish people being forced out of Europe by the Catholic church when they wouldn’t convert. Their last stop in Europe was Portugal, which our visitor said he was from.
The Central of Georgia Railroad and Canal Company was chartered in 1833, and by 1843 it was the longest continuous railroad under one central management in the world. The Central reached its peak in the early 1920s and was the largest employer in Savannah. During the Great Depression, although economically strained, the Central continued operation as a leading employer. Later, with the advent of diesel locomotives, the Savannah repair shops saw less and less work and was finally closed in 1963.
history of Savannah
Savannah was established in 1733 when General James Oglethorpe and 120 fellow passengers on the ship Anne landed on a bluff along the Savannah River, 18 miles from the Atlantic Coast. Oglethorpe named the 13th and final American colony Georgia after England’s King George II.
Savannah became the first city of this new colony. Upon Oglethorpe’s foresight, the city of Savannah was laid out in a series of grids called wards, allowing for wide streets and public squares. Considered America’s first planned city, Savannah had 24 original squares with 22 still in existence today.
Oglethorpe developed a town plan in which the basic design unit was the ward. Wards were composed of four tything (residential) blocks and four trust (civic or business) blocks, arrayed around a central square. Each tything block had 10 houses, which was the basic organizational unit for administration, farming, and defense. Each tything was also assigned a square mile tract outside town for farming, with each family farming a 45-acre plot within that tract. The tything trained together for militia duty, a necessity on the frontier. Families were also assigned 5-acre kitchen gardens near town.
Oglethorpe originally laid out 6 wards in Savannah. The design proved so adaptable as the city grew that city officials perpetuated the same basic model for more than a century. Eventually 24 wards were laid out in general accordance with the original design.
back to the mound picture
A few decades after the founding of Savannah, it proved to be a strategic port city both in the American Revolution and during the American Civil War. In 1778, the British took Savannah and held it until 1782. One of the battles happened at this location where British troops entered the side of the mound so they could stand inside and shoot down at the Patriots who were charging up the hill. Needless to say, this was a bloody battle for the new nation.
Eventually, a land-sea force of French and American troops reclaimed the city’s independence. After this turbulent time, Savannah saw a long period of agricultural growth. With rich soil and a favorable climate, Savannah and its surrounding land became home to cotton and rice fields as plantations and slavery became highly profitable systems. The invention of the cotton gin on a nearby plantation meant that the city rivaled Charleston as a commercial port.
city squares
Since Savannah is the first city in Georgia’s history, the words we heard over and over during our tour were “the first” and “the oldest.” Film makers have used Savannah as the site of many of their movies. As we drive around, I’ll point out locations you may recognize where movies have been filmed.
A detailed statue of General James Oglethorpe stands in the center of Chippewa Square, honoring the man who founded Georgia in 1733. Oglethorpe is known for his benevolence toward others, especially the Yamacraw Indians, who were the first inhabitants of the area.
Tomochichi, the leader of their tribe, and Oglethorpe were good friends and because of that relationship, early settlers were welcomed by the Indians. Tomochichi was buried in this square with a large monument stone over his burial place.
This home was designed for General Hugh Mercer, great-grandfather of the songwriter Johnny Mercer who wrote the song “Moon River” that we mentioned earlier in this post. Construction of the house began in 1860.
other interesting places on our tour
Over 9,000 graves are in this historic cemetery that opened in 1750. As the final resting place to many of the city’s earliest residents, many notable Savannah citizens are buried here including Button Gwinnett, who was a signor of the Declaration of Independence. Its intriguing history includes a time when it was used as a Union Army campground during the Civil War and the soldiers vandalized several headstones – some of the damage, including bullet holes, can still be seen today.
Our tour guide said the soldiers dug up the graves and threw away the remains so they could have a warmer place to sleep during cold winter nights (remember, General Sherman gave Savannah to President Lincoln as a Christmas gift).
Savannah’s Famous Pirates’ House is located on one of the most historic spots in Georgia, just 7 blocks from where General Oglethorpe landed. It is here that Trustee’s Garden, the first public agricultural experimental garden in America, was located. Around 1753, when Georgia had become firmly established and the need for the experimental garden no longer existed, the site was developed as a residential section. Since Savannah had become a thriving seaport town, one of the first buildings constructed on the former garden site was naturally an inn for visiting sailors.
Situated a short block from the Savannah River, the inn became a rendezvous for pirates and visiting sailors from the Seven Seas. As a seafaring site, pirate lore is naturally a major part of Savannah’s charm. The inn was even the site where Captain Flint of Treasure Island fame brought his nefarious crew.
Rose the welder joined us along the tour since she had welded ships together in the Savannah harbor.
She also told us that when women of color could join the war effort, more than 600,000 volunteers joined the ranks. Good for them!
harbor area
As we said previously, Savannah was founded 18 miles up river from the coast. Empty ships coming to America so they could fill up their holds with cotton rode too high in the water, so rocks filled the holds as ballast for the trip across the Atlantic. When they arrived, they emptied out the holds, these cobble streets were made from the rocks, and the ships were filled with cotton and goods from the new world.
Factors made their way from the waterfront warehouses to different places in the city to sell and buy cotton. Factors Walk was named for these cotton factors.
So who are factors? A factor is a type of agent who sells goods owned by another, called a principal. The factor engages more frequently in the sale of merchandise than the purchase of goods. A factor is distinguished from a mere agent in that a factor must have possession of the principal’s property, while an agent doesn’t need it. In the days of cotton, it could take months for the money from selling cotton in England to get to the cotton growers. Factors could “loan” money during the in-between time.
From 1887 to 1931, she greeted ships entering Savannah by waving a cloth at approaching ships from the lighthouse on Cockspur Island as she searched for her long lost lover. Her fame spread, and ships would return her greetings with a blast from the ship’s horn. Many still sound a salute to her statue.
We were told that General Oglethorpe outlawed slavery when he founded Savannah (like he outlawed alcohol, lawyers, and Catholics since he wanted to keep the Spanish out of Georgia). About 20 years later when he left to return to England, the city’s new leadership instituted slavery because of the cotton trade.
So much to see and learn about in this beautiful city. When we moved to Georgia in early 2001, I decided I wanted to get to know our new state, so I went to library and asked for fiction books that talk about Georgia’s history. The first of these books was the trilogy by Eugenia Price that started in the Savannah area since this was the state’s first city. I may go back and reread these books.
This ends our tour of Skidaway Island and Savannah. The next post takes you to the coastal areas of Tybee Island, Ga., and Beaufort, SC.
