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Along the Savannah River: Savannah Forts, Oatland Island, and Tybee Light Station

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The Savannah area boasts an especially rich variety of fortifications. Although none of these survive aboveground within the landmark historic district, archaeological excavations have revealed the remains of various Revolutionary War—era earthworks, including the Spring Hill Redoubt (see 7.1.6). A sequence of fortification sites extending along a remarkably short stretch of the Savannah River, from downtown Savannah to Tybee Island, documents the development of American coastal fortifications from the colonial period to the early twentieth century. The last of these defenses is adjacent to the historic Tybee Lighthouse Station (15.7).

An area of roughly fourteen miles extends from the mainland to Tybee Island, one of coastal Georgia’s barrier islands. In between lie extensive tidal marshes and islands (the largest being Whitemarsh, Wilmington, and Talahi) that remained largely undeveloped until the 1970s. The relative isolation of the sites in this area contributed to their preservation. The erection of the Order of Railway Conductors Home (15.3) on Oatland Island in 1927 represented an important step in the area’s development as residential suburbs of Savannah.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Robin B. Williams with David Gobel, Patrick Haughey, Daves Rossell, and Karl Schuler

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