Savannah, Georgia

Savannah is a city in and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, United States. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, it is the oldest city in the state, and was the capital of the colonial Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. A strategic port city in the American Revolution and during the American Civil War, Savannah today is an industrial center and an important Atlantic seaport. The city is the most populous in the Coastal Georgia region and the fifth-most populous in the state as a whole, with a population of 147,780 at the 2020 census and an estimated 149,440 in 2025. The Savannah metropolitan area, with about 438,000 residents in 2025, is the third-largest metro area in the state.

Savannah attracts millions of visitors each year to its cobblestone streets, parks, and notable historic buildings. These include the birthplace of Juliette Gordon Low (founder of the Girl Scouts of the USA), the Georgia Historical Society (the oldest continually operating historical society in the South), the Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences (one of the South's first public museums), the First African Baptist Church (one of the oldest African-American Baptist congregations in the United States), Temple Mickve Israel (the third-oldest synagogue in the U.S.), and the Central of Georgia Railway roundhouse complex (the oldest standing antebellum rail facility in the U.S., now a museum and visitor center).

History of Savannah

On February 12, 1733, General James Oglethorpe and settlers from the ship Anne landed at Yamacraw Bluff and were greeted by Tomochichi, the Yamacraws, and Indian traders John and Mary Musgrove. Mary Musgrove often served as an interpreter. The city of Savannah and the colony of Georgia were founded on that date. In 1751, Savannah and the rest of Georgia became a Royal Colony, with Savannah as its capital.

By the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, Savannah had become the southernmost commercial port in the Thirteen Colonies. British troops took the city in 1778, and the following year, a combined force of American and French soldiers, including Haitians, failed to rout the British at the Siege of Savannah. The British did not leave the city until July 1782. In December 1804 the state legislature declared Milledgeville the new capital of Georgia.

Savannah, a prosperous seaport throughout the nineteenth century, was the Confederacy's sixth most populous city and the prime objective of Major General William T. Sherman's March to the Sea. During the night of December 20-21, 1864, local authorities negotiated a peaceful surrender to save Savannah from destruction, and Union troops marched into the city at dawn.

Savannah was named after the Savannah River, which probably derives from variant names for the Shawnee, a Native American people who migrated to the river in the 1680s. The Shawnee destroyed another Native people, the Westo, and occupied their lands at the head of the Savannah River's navigation on the fall line, near present-day Augusta, Georgia. These Shawnee, whose Native name was Ša·wano·ki (literally, "southerners"), were known by several local variants, including Shawano, Savano, Savana and Savannah. Another theory is that the name Savannah refers to the extensive marshlands surrounding the river for miles inland, and is derived from the English term "savanna", a kind of tropical grassland, which was borrowed by the English from Spanish sabana and used in the Southern Colonies. (The Spanish word comes from the Taino word zabana.) Still other theories suggest that the name Savannah originates from Algonquian terms meaning not only "southerners" but perhaps also "salt", while one points to its origin in the Algonquian word savanne, meaning "muddy water" or "drowned prairie".

Geography

Savannah lies on the Savannah River, approximately 20 mi (32 km) upriver from the Atlantic Ocean. According to the United States Census Bureau (2011), the city has a total area of 108.7 square miles (281.5 km2), of which 103.1 square miles (267.0 km2) is land and 5.6 square miles (15 km2) is water (5.15%). Savannah is the primary port on the Savannah River and the largest port in Georgia. It is also near the U.S. Intracoastal Waterway. Georgia's Ogeechee River flows toward the Atlantic Ocean some 16 miles (26 km) south of downtown Savannah and forms the southern city limit.

Savannah is prone to flooding due to abundant rainfall, an elevation just above sea level, and the shape of the coastline, which poses a greater surge risk during hurricanes. The city currently uses five canals. In addition, several pumping stations have been built to help reduce the effects of flash flooding.

Savannah's climate is classified as humid subtropical (Köppen Cfa). Throughout the Deep South, this is characterized by long and almost tropical summers and short, mild winters. Savannah records only a few days of freezing temperatures each year, and snowfall is rare. Due to its proximity to the Atlantic coast, Savannah rarely experiences temperatures as extreme as those in Georgia's interior. Nevertheless, the extreme temperatures have officially ranged from 105 °F (41 °C), on July 20, 1986, and July 12, 1879, down to 3 °F (−16 °C) during the January 1985 Arctic outbreak.

Arts & culture

Beyond its architectural significance as the nation's largest, historically restored urban area, Savannah has a rich and growing performing arts scene and offers cultural events throughout the year.

The Savannah Book Festival – an annual book fair held on Presidents' Day weekend in the vicinity of historic Telfair and Wright squares, includes free presentations by more than 35 contemporary authors. Special events with featured writers are offered nominally throughout the year.

Flannery O'Connor Childhood Home – a museum house dedicated to the work and life of the acclaimed fiction writer Flannery O'Connor, who was born in Savannah and lived in the city until the age of fifteen. In addition to its museum, the house offers literary programming, including the annual Ursrey Lecture honoring American fiction writers.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is a non-fiction book by John Berendt, published in 1994 and set in Savannah's historic downtown. It was later made into a movie, directed by Clint Eastwood.

Other notable authors with ties to Savannah include Conrad Aiken, Mary Kay Andrews, and James Alan McPherson. The songwriter Johnny Mercer was a native Savannahian.

Several of Caitlín R. Kiernan's works are set in Savannah, including In the Garden of Poisonous Flowers (novella, 2002) and "Houndwife" (short story, 2010).

Economy

Agriculture was essential to Savannah's economy during its first two centuries. Silk and indigo production, both in demand in England, were early export commodities. By 1767, almost a ton of silk per year was exported to England. Georgia's mild climate offered perfect conditions for growing cotton, which became the dominant commodity after the American Revolution. Its production under the plantation system and shipment through the Port of Savannah helped the city's European immigrants achieve wealth and prosperity.

By the nineteenth century, the Port of Savannah had become one of the most active in the United States. In the United States' early years, goods produced in the New World had to pass through Atlantic ports such as Savannah's before they could be shipped to England. The Port of Savannah grew to become North America's fourth-largest port for shipping container traffic. In 2023, the port handled 4.9 million twenty-foot equivalent container units (TEU).

Savannah's first hotel, City Hotel, was completed in 1821. It also housed the city's first United States Post Office branch. Between 1912 and 1968, the Savannah Machine & Foundry Company was a shipbuilder in Savannah.

For years, Savannah was the home of Union Camp, which housed the world's largest paper mill. The plant is now owned by International Paper and remains one of Savannah's largest employers. Savannah is also home to the Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation, maker of private jets, and various other significant industrial interests. TitleMax is headquartered in Savannah. Morris Multimedia is a newspaper and television company based in Savannah.

Education

Savannah hosts four colleges and universities offering bachelor's, master's, and professional or doctoral degree programs: Georgia Southern University-Armstrong Campus, Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), Savannah State University, and South University. In addition, Georgia Tech Savannah offers certificate programs and Georgia Southern University has a satellite campus in the downtown area. Savannah Technical College, a two-year institution in the city, and the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, a marine science research institute of the University of Georgia located on the northern end of Skidaway Island, offer educational programs as well. Savannah is also the location of Ralston College, an unaccredited liberal arts college founded in 2010.

Mercer University began a four-year doctor of medicine program in August 2008 at Memorial University Medical Center. Mercer, with its main campus in Macon, received additional state funding in 2007 to expand its existing partnership with Memorial by establishing a four-year medical school in Savannah (the first in southern Georgia). Third- and fourth-year Mercer students have completed two-year clinical rotations at Memorial since 1996; approximately 100 residents are trained yearly in several medical practices. The expanded program opened in August 2008 with 30 first-year students.