Savannah Real Estate Listings of Houses and Homes for Sale in Chatham County, Georgia


	Savannah Houses for Sale

Savannah

Savannah is the oldest city in Georgia and sits on the Savannah River, approximately 20 miles from the river's mouth to the Atlantic Ocean. It is the third largest city in Georgia next to Atlanta and Columbus. A bustling industrial center and seaport, Savannah has retained much of the aura of its gracious past while expanding rapidly with various new real estate developments.

The city offers its residents a wide variety of recreation - from fishing and golf to sporting events and beaches. History buffs revel in the cobblestone paths, restored forts and house museums of old Savannah. Shoppers plow or pirouette through various shops and malls, riverfront boutiques and antique stores in the city's Historic District or along Savannah's Southside that offers more than 20 shopping centers, including the huge Oglethorpe and Savannah malls.

Georgia was the final of the original thirteen colonies and was founded by General James Oglethorpe in 1733. The state owes it origins to a combination of motives: England's desire to protect her colonies in South Carolina from the Spanish settlements in Florida; England's hope that Georgia would become a silk and wine exporting colony; and Oglethorpe's desire to provide opportunities for families in England who were victimized by the Debtor's law.

The first group of settlers landed on February 12, 1733, after a voyage of over three months in a small galley named the Anne. The group of colonists, led by Oglethorpe himself, settled on a small bluff overlooking the Savannah River that they named Savannah. City Hall now occupies the very spot where Oglethorpe and his settlers first camped in the New World.

In 1778, Savannah was invaded and captured by the British. In the fierce siege of Savannah that followed, many heroes lost their lives including Count Pulaski and Sergeant Jasper. Savannah was not reoccupied until 1782 under the leadership of Generals Nathanael Greene and Anthony Wayne.

Savannah enjoyed great prosperity in the years following the Revolutionary War. Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin on a plantation up the Savannah River and the cotton industry in Savannah soon became the world leader. During this era of prosperity in Savannah, architect William Jay arrived from England and was responsible for designing some of Savannah's most elegant structures, including the Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences.

South Carolina seceded from the union in December 1860, one month after Abraham Lincoln was elected President. Georgia, dependent upon slavery to support King Cotton, quickly followed. For four bloody years The War Between The States raged. General Sherman ended his famous March to the Sea in Savannah on December 24, 1864. Although he had burned Atlanta and many other cities, Sherman was so taken by the beauty of Savannah that instead of burning her to the ground, he telegraphed President Lincoln and presented Savannah as a Christmas present.