Welcome to SAVANNAH

Savannah is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Chatham County, Georgia, USA. Savannah was established in 1733 and was the first colonial and state capital of Georgia. Each year Savannah attracts millions of visitors, who enjoy the city's architecture and historic buildings: the birthplace of Juliette Gordon Low (founder of the Girl Scouts of the United States of America), 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 America), and the Central of Georgia Railway roundhouse complex (the oldest standing antebellum rail facility in America). Today Savannah's downtown area, which includes the Savannah Historic District, the Savannah Victorian Historic District and 21 parklike squares, is one of the largest National Historic Landmark Districts in the United States (designated by the U.S. government in 1966).

Points of Interst

Savannah's architecture and history are internationally known, as is its reputation for Southern charm and hospitality; for example, the city's former promotional name was "Hotesss City of the South" a phrase still used by the city government. Each year, Savannah attracts millions of visitors from across the country and around the world. Savannah's downtown area is one of the largest National Historic Landmark Districts in the United States.

The city's location offers visitors access to the coastal islands and the Savannah Riverfront, both popular tourist destinations. Tybee Island, formerly known as "Savannah Beach" is the site of the Tybee Island Light Station, the first lighthouse on the southern Atlantic coast. Other picturesque towns adjacent to Savannah include the shrimping village of Thunderbolt and two residential areas that began as summer resort communities for Savannahians: Beaulieu and Vernonburg.

The Savannah International Trade & Convention Center is located on Hutchinson Island, across from downtown Savannah and surrounded by the Savannah River. The Belles Ferry connects the island with the mainland, as does the Eugene Talmadge Memorial Bridge.

The Savannah Civic Center is located on Montgomery Street and is host to over 900 events each year, including the Memorial Health Hockey Classic.

Tybee Island Light Station

The Tybee Island Light, also known simply as the Tybee Lighthouse is located on Tybee Island, Georgia, east of Savannah at the mouth of the Savannah River. The Tybee Lighthouse is one of just a handful of 18th century lighthouses still in operation in North America.

Bamboo Farm and Coastal Gardens

Bamboo Farm and Coastal Gardens (52 acres) is an experimental research station and botanical garden located at 2 Canebrake Road, Savannah, Georgia. The gardens are open daily, except holidays, without charge.

The garden's collections began in 1890 when Mrs. H. B. Miller planted three giant Japanese bamboo plants. By 1915 they had formed a bamboo grove, which drew the attention of noted botanist and plant explorer David Fairchild. In 1919 Barbour Lathrop, a friend of Fairchild's, purchased the site and leased it to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for $1. Lathrop traveled extensively throughout China and Japan collecting specimens for the garden; the USDA also collected and planted specimens. In 1979 the USDA closed the site. It was deeded to the University of Georgia in 1983 and now forms part of its College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Today the gardens contain more than 140 bamboo varieties, said to be the largest bamboo collection open to the public in North America. Most specimens were planted in the 1920s. It also contains 35 palm species in an effort begun in 1998 by the Southeastern Palm and Exotic Plant Society, as well as collections of vines and daylilies. There are two display gardens:

Cottage Garden - a trial garden where perennials, annuals, and bulbs are evaluated.
Xeriscape Garden - demonstrates low-water landscaping.

• Currently, the Bamboo Farm and Coastal Gardens is currently run by David Linvill, part of the UGA Cooperative Extension.
• Fort Pulaski National Monument

Fort Pulaski National Monument is located between Savannah and Tybee Island, Georgia. It preserves Fort Pulaski, notable as the place where, during the American Civil War, in 1862, the Union Army successfully tested a rifled cannon. The success of the test rendered brick fortifications obsolete. The fort was also used as a prisoner-of-war camp. The National Monument includes most of Cockspur Island (containing the fort) and all of adjacent McQueens Island.