A few Savannah facts ..

When General Sherman marched through Savannah during the Civil War, he was so impressed by her beauty that he sent a telegraph to President Lincoln, offering Savannah to him as a Christmas present.

Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. was founded in Savannah in 1912 by a Savannah woman named Juliette Gordon Low. Her childhood home now serves as the Girl Scouts’ National Headquarters.

In 2002, the American Institute of Parapsychology named Savannah, “America’s Most Haunted City.” Based on Savannah’s history of fires, plagues, wars and voodoo, they determined Savannah was the perfect place for supernatural activity.

Savannah is called 'America's First Planned City' because James Oglethorpe, Savannah's founder, carefully organized the town into grids, with wide streets and 24 public squares. 21 of these squares were carefully preserved throughout the years and still exist today.

 

Savannah over the years has become the fictional home of some of the silver screen’s most memorable movies including “Forrest Gump,” “Roots,” “Gator,” “Glory,” “Something to Talk About,” “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil,” “Forces of Nature,” “The General’s Daughter,” and Robert Redford's “Legend of Bagger Vance.”

Paula Deen, Savannah's most famous cook, launched her empire out of her home, after her marriage crumbled. With $200 and the help of her sons she launched 'The Bag Lady'. The business was simple; she prepared the sandwiches, and her sons went out and sold them. Today, The Lady and Sons restaurant is one of Savannah's most popular experiences.

 

Spanish Moss, the famous hanging plant-graces the landscape throughout Savannah, is neither Spanish nor moss. 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 ... “Goodnight neighbor, sleep tight, and don’t let the bed bugs bite!”

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, the John Berendt novel about secrets, socialites and murder spent more than five years on the New York Times best-seller list holding the record for the longest running best-seller in history.

The Pirates House, a famous Savannah restaurant, was actually a tavern frequented by pirates who sailed the Caribbean in 1794. Events at the Pirates House were the inspiration for Robert Lewis Stevenson’s novel, Treasure Island.

After the Civil War, freed African-American slaves remained in the area and helped develop one of the most historically significant black communities.

The Waving Girl can be found on River Street.. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Florence Martus greeted the passing ships that went to the Savannah Port. She greeted them by waving a cloth during the day, and she used a lantern during the night. Some people say she wanted to be the first to meet her husband, as he returned to port. She began waving in 1887 and stopped in 1931 and it was said she never missed a ship.

The first movie shown at the Lucas Theater when it opened in 1921 was “Camille,” starring Rudolph Valentino.

Five months after General Oglethorpe and the original settlers landed in Savannah, 42 Jewish refugees from Spain arrived in July 1733. This was the largest immigration of Jews at one time to the new world during the colonial period.

 

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