Rustic 18th century cottage, close to all attractions, shops and restaurants in Historic Savannah.

One bedroom, one bath cottage located between Columbia Square and Greene Square. This cottage dates back to the 18th century and it is believed that Isaiah Davenport lived here as he was building his grand brick mansion, The Davenport House.

This cottage, called Laura's Cottage, is also said to be “haunted” by the ghost of a midwife and occasionally you will find a dime, a nickel and two pennies in the cottage. This is the price of a midwife in the 18th century. The cottage is featured in many of the ghost tours around Savannah.

With original heart pine boards, exposed post and beam construction, antiques and original artwork, this cozy cottage is a unique place to stay in Savannah.

Festival growing in size with an average attendance of 35,000 and is gaining extensive local and national coverage.

Savannah is a city that promotes creativity – you will see it in the many art galleries, the wide variety of cultural events, theater, sidewalk art festivals, music festivals and the street performers on River Street. At the center of this artistic explosion is the Savannah College of Art and Design.

Each year SCAD presents the Savannah Film Festival, which has promoted quality independent films and filmmakers. More than 50 films are selected from over 600 entries in a variety of categories. Lifetime Achievement Awards are also presented to outstanding individuals in film each year.

Professional workshops and lectures for the community and local schools address acting, producing, animation, filmmaking, etc. There is also a student competition for films which allows local students to meet with the filmmakers following screenings.

The Savannah Film Festival, which began in 1998, will take place from October 29th through November 5th, 2005. Tickets go on sale on October 1st at Trustees Theater box office or by calling (912) 525-5050.

Encouraged by Benjamin Franklin, Reverend George Whitefield, one of the religiously diverse cultural early influences in Colonial Savannah founded the Bethesda Boys Home in Colonial Savannah in 1737.

The early history of Savannah, Georgia is remarkable for a great number of history making events in the Georgia Colony set up by Oglethorpe shortly after his arrival in 1733, not the least of which is the sheer diversity of its people. Religious observance of many faiths played a hugely important role in the early life of Savannah. In addition to its founding English settlers, Jewish settlers fleeing the horrors of the inquest arrived from London in the summer of 1733; they later founded the Temple Mickve Israel, the oldest Jewish congregation in the South. In the spring of 1734 came Evangelical Lutherans from Salzburg who settled on the Savannah River at a town they named Ebenezer. Scottish Highlanders and German Moravians came in 1736, followed by Dutch, Welsh, and Irish settlers. John and Charles Wesley conducted Anglican services. In 1737 the Reverend George Whitefield arrived and soon after founded Bethesda Boys Home, colonial America's first orphanage.

Featuring a rich history of selflessly giving to those in need, the Bethesda Home for Boys has followed the example of it’s founding father and expanded his mandate to provide relief of “distressed widows and schooling and maintaining of poor children.” With over 265 years of continual service to the greater coastal Georgia community around Savannah proper, this storied orphanage continues to be a beacon of hope for those in need.

See Also

• Artistic rendering of the early Bethesda Boys Home, circa 1740

According to state wildlife biologists, Georgia’s Bald Eagle population has stabilized with more than eighty nesting pairs of this endangered species of our National bird of prey. Observe these birds in their natural habitat through coastal Georgia.

Coastal Georgia is steeped in human and natural history. Since the first human inhabitants colonized the coast, man and the abundant natural resources found here have been inexorably linked. A visit to one or more sites along the Colonial Coast Birding Trail will provide you with the opportunity to see and enjoy the beauty of a kaleidoscope of birds and glimpse the fascinating history of this land and its residents.

More than 300 species of birds (75 percent of the total species of birds seen in Georgia) have been spotted at the 18 sites along the birding trail. Don't expect to see most of these birds on a single visit. The birds you see will depend greatly on when and where you visit. Some birds can be seen throughout the year. Others are migratory and travel long distances from their breeding grounds to wintering areas.

Each site along the Colonial Coast Birding Trail is unique. Many sites offer visitors the opportunity to watch birds and visit 18th and 19th century historic places. Other sites are located on lands and waters that were once part of early plantations dedicated to growing rice, indigo and cotton. So whether you want to see a bald eagle soaring over a coastal river, an endangered wood stork feeding its gawky young, sanderlings chasing the waves on a sandy beach, or a great egret standing motionless in a placid pond, the Colonial Coast Birding Trail has something for you. Some of the above excerpts provided courtesy of Georgia Wildlife Department of Natural Resources

From the mountains of North Georgia to the historic district of Savannah, tourists had Georgia on their mind with 15 billion plus tourism dollars spent while visiting the Peach State in 2004.

Georgia had a banner year in 2004 as tourists did indeed have "Georgia on their mind" along with her southern neighbor in Florida and our two Carolina neighbors to the north with a 6% increase in Georgia alone. The recently established The New Georgia Tourism Foundation has plans to keep Georgia in tourists mind’s for years to come with implementation of marketing plans to attract more business travelers as well as the garden variety vacation traveler. A few of the foundation’s immediate goals are plans to create free wireless internet access at all Georgia Travel Centers for travelers passing through these centers as well as plans to create an online booking service linking hotels and motels across the entire state for seamless booking of nightly lodging reservations.

Georgia hosted 46.2 million visitors last year with 10 million driving through the state en route to other tourist destinations and an 26.9 million that stayed at least one night during their visit. Georgia has proven herself in previous yeas as a favorite regional tourism destination with two thirds of her visitors originating out of the state of Georgia which goes against the national trend which typically averages only half of their visitors from other states with approximately half of all tourism dollars coming from within traditional state boundaries.

What all the fuss is about at Savannah area road side stands, vegetable markets and countless other produce outlets, low country legumes for your snack food cravings.

Golf, tennis, sailing, flat water kayaking, and fishing on the coastal border of Georgia and South Carolina.

If one looks around at the travelers arriving and departing Savannah – Hilton Head International Airport, it might seem you are in the locker room of the Augusta National rather than a bustling airport with all the golf bags being carted around. No mystery here, these duffers are probably en route to or returning from Hilton Head Island less than an hour away with her twenty championship golf courses (fourteen of which offer public access) including those courses that are located even closer in nearby Bluffton.

And Golf enthusiasts aren’t the least of the sporting crowd that annually visit this legendary resort island with plenty of tennis aficionados in evidence as well as the 350 or so tennis courts can attest to among the 7000 villas and timeshare accommodations, many of them hidden away in gated communities. With twelve miles of beach rim access on the Atlantic Ocean side of the island, there is plenty of opportunities for sailing, surfing, a variety of boating, and fishing of all descriptions for the more aquatic loving visitor to this historically popular tourist destination. Whatever your leisure pursuit, you are likely to find it when visiting Savannah and the surrounding area

Recent renovations add to the appeal of this two story carriage house in the heart of the Historic District.

This two bedroom and one and a half bath carriage house is unique in its design because the living room, dining room and kitchen are on the top floor and the bedrooms are on the bottom floor. The Liberty House was built in 1870 and has recently undergone renovations to make your stay even more comfortable.

Two large pillars separate the dining room from the living room and you will find lovely paintings throughout. Open the curtains your bedroom in the morning to allow the sunshine in while you taken in the beautifully landscaped shared courtyard.

This upscale accommodation will make you feel right at home while you’re in Savannah!

Just like homegrown tomatoes are always better tasting than tomatoes grown commercially, shrimp harvested in local waters and served fresh are highly sought after by savvy seafood lovers.

Experts anticipate a larger than usual fall season harvest of white shrimp this season. Although the unknown factor of this equation as always this time of year remains the unknown component of the hurricane season as too much rain pushes shrimp to deeper waters away from recreational shrimpers who cast in the fall. This promises to be good news after last fall’s dismal season that produced fewer and smaller shrimp during the fall shrimping season.

This years spring season began late when cooler water temperatures in local coastal waters slowed the spawn and growth of white shrimp. Some reports indicate there was only about a month’s worth of decent brown shrimp catches that were typically too small for the most part. Based on preliminary reports of plenty of shrimp in bait nets so far, at least one area seafood wholesaler allows that “we see no reason why this fall won’t be a good season.” Good news indeed for shellfish fans and Savannah area seafood restaurants.

Featuring many unique items imported from around the world - all in one place!

For a unique shopping experience in Savannah, visit River Street Marketplace. This open-air market is located right on the River and features 50 shops with imported items from all around the world.

The Coat of Arms Shoppe can trace the history of your family name as well as your family’s Medieval Coat of Arms.

Savannah Brown, LTD features a large selection of wood and stone carvings from Kenya. All pieces are handmade.

O’Donoghue’s Irish Imports offer handcrafted items from Ireland including soaps, perfumes, figurines and pendants.

These are just a few of the many shops located in this marketplace, reminiscent of the Sheds that stood on River Street in the 1800s.

Regardless of the name you choose to call River Street, the main thing is to make sure you do not miss your own personal walking tour along the Savannah River.

We gave up trying to correct first time historic district visitors years ago with all their inquiries we were receiving about availability of self catered accommodations in easy walking distance to “river walk”. There never has been a designation of a “River Walk” for the cobblestone street running alongside the Savannah River per se, even though technically this is what the thousands of daily visitors are actually doing on this highly trafficked pedestrian causeway. River Street with it’s strategic placement on a high bluff overlooking the Savannah River has enjoyed a huge resurgence of popularity since Savannah’s civic leaders joined forces in the late 1970’s to implement the River Street Urban Renewal Project.

Nowadays, these nine blocks of renovated 19th century era cotton warehouses house approximately eighty restaurants, pubs, night spots, hotels, shops, galleries, and boutiques making this particular location Savannah’s number one tourist attraction. While walking along the Savannah River, first time tourists quickly understand why Savannah is ranked as the fifth largest cargo port of call in the United States with the many building size super ships being ferried through the murky waters of the Savannah River by the attendant tug boats that carefully maneuver these massive sea going vessel’s through the fifty plus foot deep waters.

The strategically placed stone paved ramps that connect River Street to Bay Street are actually made of European ballast stones that gave schooners added stability on their Atlantic crossing from Europe when cotton was king in this thriving antebellum port city. A perfect blending of history, romantic ambiance, gourmet restaurants, and plenty of tourist attractions has assured historic Savannah’s annual designation well into the 21st century as a top ten vacation destination here in the United States. Just be careful not to misstep on the cobblestones while sauntering along Savannah’s “River Walk.”

Located in the heart of the Historic District, near the square where Forrest Gump's opening shot was filmed, this spacious townhouse will offer an opportunity to live like a local.

At one time, Forrest Gump’s famous bench was located in the square just steps from this one bedroom, one bathroom vacation rental. This circa 1854 townhouse features the original cooking hearth, fireplace and exposed pine beams.

This 1400 square foot townhouse is extremely spacious with hardwood floors throughout. The bedroom features a queen size canopy bed. There is also a sleeper sofa if you’re bringing your family.

In the morning, you can enjoy your coffee at the table out in the lovely courtyard. Parking passes can be arranged with the owner.

Forward leaning Savannah – honoring her historic past this storied coastal city blends tourism, one of America’s leading ports, and high tech industry to keep this regional economic power a major player nationally with her evolving economic developmen

Savannah hosts nearly six million guests a year to this southern gem of a coastal Georgia city with her antebellum style and gracious hospitality. Not resting on her laurels as a major travel destination for national and international tourists alike, the Hostess City also boasts a robust maritime friendly infrastructure for accommodating massive container ships world wide, and three different institutions of higher learning that are all expanding their course offerings and enrollments.

Savannah's diversified economy appears to be on solid ground with new hotels, new housing developments, and new industries that are high tech in nature coming online at a breath taking rate almost daily it seems. And the heart of this growth within the historic district has not been idle either as plans to restore Ellis Square in the City Market area move forward along with an ambitious underground parking garage to take care of the increased parking needs for Savannah’s 365 days a year stream of tourists.

The eclectic mix of new and old as demonstrated by exquisitely rendered period correct restored historic homes, restaurants serving varied fare, trendy galleries, boutique shops, and the largest art school in the country, Savannah College of Art and Design, with the campus scattered throughout the historic district with 50+ buildings. All things considered, this southern sultry lady remains a lively southern belle indeed.