ONBOARD ODDYSEA: 4/18/10

We started the day at the Savannah Historical museum. One of the first exhibits we came across was this old dugout canoe. It’s named “Old Log”. It’s typical of the watercraft used along the Southern coast through the 1800’s.

The story of “Old Log”.

1870’s Build by an African-American
in South Carolina

1880 Brought to Edisto Island
and used for deer hunting and fishing

1893 Capsized during a hurricane
killing 4 people

1905-1910 Cat rig sail added

1911 Split fore and aft during hurricane

1920’s 1 ½ h.p. motor added

1954 Last family outing taken in it

No idea what circa this dental office was, but it had a foot-pump powered drill.

For you Forrest Gump fans, here’s the bench he sat on waiting for the bus while he told his story.

And here is the spot by the park where the bench originally sat.

The feather that floated down from the church steeple and landed at Forrest’s feet came from this church.

“and that’s all I have to say about that”.

Now for your history lesson……..

After leaving the museum we wandered through another of the lovely squares. Christ Church is located facing one of the squares. It is referred to as The Mother Church of Georgia. It is an Episcopal church and is the first house of worship in Georgia. John Wesley, who later formed the Methodist church movement, was one of the early rectors.

President George Washington attended services here when he was in town. And one it’s many predominant members was Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of the Girl Scouts.

We wandered back down to the riverfront. This is the Old Savannah Cotton Exchange. At one point, the price of cotton worldwide was set in this building. It was built in the late 1800’s when Savannah was the largest cotton seaport on the Atlantic, and the second largest in the world.

The Cotton Exchange Fountain was built in 1889. It was originally made of terra cotta. I say originally because the current lion is a replacement. Back in 2008 a drunk driver hit it and shattered it. Pieces of the lion where found inside the Cotton Exchange building, which broke out windows, and even on the roof.

The pieces where gathered together, as much as possible, and a mold was made from what they could reconstruct. The new lion is now part concrete.

The driver? Female, 39, drunk, ran 2 red lights, hit the fountain, jaws-of-life were needed to extract her from her Corolla, minor injuries.

View of the City Hall of Savannah.

A few more photos of some of the old historic warehouses that line the river. Now restored and used as shops, offices and other establishments.