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Historical Ruminations

Savannah’s and Savannahians contributions to our country are often overlooked by us. Robin Williams, a professor and chair of the Architectural History Department at SCAD, says although Savannah is small it punches out of its weight class. He compared it to a welter weight who can punch and fight in the heavy weight division. The posts in this section will look at some of the ways that this is true.
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Here is Michael Freeman's new book on Savannah. It tells a story not often told of the Creeks and the Native American Creeks who lived in Savannah during its founding. You might  even  say Tomochichi and Mary Musgrove were co-founders of Georgia. 

Savannah's Jewish Revolutionary Hero

5/26/2017

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PictureMordecai Sheftall
Savannah had many Revolutionary heroes either live or die here. But none quite as unique as Mordecai Sheftall. Mordecai lived between 1737 and 1797. He was the son of Benjamin and Perla Sheftall who came to Savannah on either the William or Sarah two ships in 1733 that brought the first Jewish settlers of Georgia. Mordecai was Benjamin and Perla’s son and a successful merchant and real estate dealer in early Savannah history. He was active in the colonial cause from the earliest days of the fomenting of the American Revolution. When the War inevitably came between the colonists and the British, he was appointed commissary-general and eventually the “Deputy Commissary of Issues in South Carolina and Georgia.”  He was given the rank of colonel to carry out these duties and this made him the highest ranking Jew to serve in the continental Army. Mordecai not only served but he also gave of his fortune for the upkeep of the soldiers under his command.
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Unfortunately Mordecai was taken prisoner by the British early in the War. Along with his son Sheftall Sheftall (no misprint) who served as his assistant he was eventually released in a prisoner exchange. But this was not before his fortune of land and tannery factory were confiscated and destroyed.  He would petition the new government for the money he had given his soldiers after the War but was denied, leaving him in bad financial straits.

Mordecai was not only a Jew by ethnicity but a Jew by heart too. He had a room in his home which served as the house of worship for the Congregation Mickve Israel. After the War this Congregation would build what is the only Gothic Synagogue in the United States (1773) on land he deeded to the congregation. The congregation is the third oldest in America. He served five years as its president.
Sheftall also donated land for the first major Jewish cemetery in Georgia on August 2, 1773. It was called the Sheftall Cemetery. This burial ground was in use for one hundred years. Today it is located in a secluded back street behind Garrison Performing Arts School.

Sheftall died on July 6, 1797, He never regained the fortune he had before the War but he remained one of the leading citizens of Savannah, serving on civic boards and as the leader of the Savannah Jewish Community.

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Mickve Israel Synagogue
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Old Jewish Burial Ground
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Another Great Savannah Architect

5/17/2017

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PicturePreston's Architectural Drawing of Home at Monumental Beach, Massachusetts of America's original bungalow
It should surprise no one when a city with such beautiful architecture has the works of some of our country’s greatest architects. William Gibbons Preston lived September 29, 1842 – March 26, 1910. He first learned architecture from his father Johnathan Preston where he practiced from 1861 - 1885. He was a Bostonian and Harvard graduate. He continued his studies at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. His work is scattered throughout the cities of Boston, New York, Rhode Island, Ohio, and most importantly Savannah.
His career In Boston would include the design for the Rogers Building Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s original site which has been demolished. He introduced the bungalow style of architecture to the United States in his design of a home in Monument Beach, Massachusetts in 1879. His buildings helped shape Boston’s architectural landscape.
He was an active member and fellow of the American Institute of Architect and was a vice president of the organization during the late 1890s. He also was a precursor of the historical preservation movement influential in the successful 1896 effort to prevent the demolition of Boston’s historic State House. The historic state house was built in 1798 by Charles Bulfinch. Bulfinch was also the architect of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. As if he was not busy enough he was also a member of the Boston Art Club and exhibited there for over twenty years. His works are still sought after today.
Without Gibbon’s work in Savannah, just as in Boston, has helped shape our architectural landscape. During his stay here he was prolific. He designed the Savannah Volunteer Guards Armory on Bull Street (1893) which is the building Savannah College of Art and Design started now called Poetter Hall. He designed the Cotton Exchange Building, originally called King Cotton’s Palace, (1886). This building has the distinction of being, if not the only, one of the few to be designed above a street that is still in use. He designed the old County Courthouse (1889).  All of these still stand but one of his more famous works in Savannah was the old Desoto Hotel (1890) whose destruction left many a historic preservationist’s heart broken. Besides these buildings he designed 20 other civic and private buildings throughout the Historic District.
Savannah has been blessed with some of our country’s greatest architects. William G. Preston certainly rates as one of our finest.
 
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Savannah Cotton Exchange
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Old Chatham County Courthouse
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Poetter Hall
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Preston designed Savannah Victorian Home
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Due to being out of town next edition on Tuesday feel free to enjoy the Archives

5/13/2017

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Learning While Black

5/5/2017

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PictureThe 'Black' Carnegie Library
In the news lately the “Black Carnegie Library Savannah” was listed as one of the most beautiful libraries in Georgia. But not only is it a beautiful library, it has a remarkable history. A history that reminds us too much of Savannah’s history is told with the emphasis on white history. Yet the first local bank in Savannah was Carver State Bank.  The Carver State Bank was established on February 23, 1927, and was then known as the Georgia Savings and Realty Corporation. Still in existence today it was established and remains a black-run bank. Savannah State University is the oldest public historically black university in the state. It is also the oldest intact university of Savannah established in 1890. So it should be of no surprise when I tell you the Carnegie Library, when it opened in August 1914, is not only the city's first library to serve black citizens—it was Savannah's first freestanding public library.

The City of Savannah had been running a library inside of the Georgia Historical Society and was now looking to apply for and build a Carnegie Library. The only issue with this was the library would not allow black patrons. Leading members of Savannah’s black community stepped in and decided to apply for their own Carnegie Library. These Black leaders were able to get their act together before the white community and had their building up and running years before the eventual ‘White’ Carnegie library. 

The library sits across from Dixon Park on a block of Victorian Homes. It was designed by Savannah architect and engineer Julian deBruyn Kops. It is designed in the style of the Prairie School architecture pioneered by Frank Lloyd Wright. The Carnegie Library is the only example of this style in a public building in Savannah. It is one of Savannah’s under-appreciated architectural masterpieces.

Not only is the setting and the design remarkable but for five decades it served the African-American community. Within its walls such famous black Savannahians as Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, Pulitzer Prize winner author James Alan McPherson, Savannah’s first three Black mayors Floyd Adams, Otis Johnson and Edna Jackson, all read, study and grew mentally to be leaders in the nation and the city. It was not until 1963 that the ‘white’ public Carnegie library on Bull Street became integrated. Some speculate it may be may be one of the last operating African-American libraries in the country.

In 2001 the library had a 1.5 million dollar renovation and expansion. Because of several of his friends’ donations, one of the wings is named in honor of Justice Clarence Thomas. It was a controversial naming because Justice Thomas often cast court votes against what the majority of blacks believe.

The building still has 200 of the original books that the Savannah black community donated about African American subjects at its beginning. Today it stands as a place for the neighborhood children to gather to learn and read. But in a yesteryear it was a lifesaver for young black minds ready to make their mark in the world.    
 
 
 
 

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