I’ve said it before, but it’s really true: in Savannah, every time you step out of the house, you’ll see something bizarre. Every single time. Here’s another random collection of images from around this odd, photogenic city.
Books on: Black Church Beginnings
On Franklin Square, the First African Baptist Church is the oldest black church in North America. Founded by slaves in 1775, the church has a history nearly as old as Savannah itself.
From the outside, the church isn’t all that impressive, but that changes once you step indoors. It’s beautiful, with curved pews pointing towards the pulpit and a pair of upper balconies for busy days. The church was built by slaves who, as you might imagine, didn’t have much money or time. Over the course of four years, they worked at night on the construction. That’s some faith — after a day of back-breaking work in the fields, to come and toil even longer.
Their first preacher was a slave, and since slaves educating each other was forbidden, he would regularly be taken out into Franklin Square and whipped, until his owner stepped up for him and forbid further punishment. Our tour guide was full of interesting anecdotes like this, and our hour long visit flew by.
The church was built with a secret floor underneath its real floor, and was a stop on the Underground Railroad. Never discovered by authorities, the crawlspace hid hundreds of runaway slaves and a tunnel led them to the Savannah river. To mask their true purpose, the floor’s breathing holes were bored in the shape of the Kongo Cosmogram; an African spiritual symbol often used by American slaves.
At first glance, the church’s ceiling looks rather plain — squares like waffles, as one kid on our tour said. But our guide explained that they represented the Nine-Patch Quilt, which served as beacons to slaves on the run. I never knew about that… so the ceiling is a touching tribute to the noble and secretive purpose of the church. Another interesting thing new to me was cursive Hebrew. The original pews built hundreds of years ago are still in use. On the ends of each pew, cursive Hebrew has been scratched into the wood. Our guide wasn’t able to translate any of it, but he did tell us how a few African tourists had visited recently and instantly recognized it. Apparently, it’s still used by Jewish communities in Africa.
Now this is the kind of stuff that totally interests me… Kongo Cosmograms, Underground Railroad Patchwork, Cursive Hebrew. If you’re the same, make sure to visit the First African Baptist Church, either for the tour (daily, at 11am and 2pm) or for Sunday service.
First African Baptist Church
23 Montgomery Street
Location on our Savannah Map
912-233-6597
Layed out in 1733, Ellis Square has the distinction of being one of Oglethorpe’s “original four” squares, along with Johnson, Telfair and Wright. It also has the distinction of being the most singularly ugly of all Savannah’s squares.
But it’s not Ellis Square’s fault! Don’t hate on poor Ellis. In 1954, before the historic preservation movement really got going, Ellis Square was sold to a parking association, which demolished it and built a parking lot on top. Hmmm… Ellis Square was sold and lost its dignity. Before the Civil War, Ellis Square was the site of Savannah’s slave market, where people were sold. Karma!
The parking company’s 50-year lease ended in 2004 and Savannah wasted no time in redeveloping Ellis and reclaiming its 22nd square. But, aesthetically, there’s little doubt they did a poor job. You know, it’s modern times and I suppose they wanted to push the envelope, but Ellis is not beautiful or charming. With plain cement in a circular shape and an utter lack of vegetation, most tourists don’t even realize they’re in one of Savannah’s most historic squares.
City Market sprouts off to the west of Ellis Square, right where Susie Chisolm‘s bronze Johnny Mercer leans happily against his fire hydrant. The Lady and Sons is nearby, as is Goose Feather’s cafe and a number of shops. All this marketplace activity is really the only reason to come to Ellis Square. It won’t be for the view.
- Savannah 101 (almost!)
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