Discovering History along the Coastal Georgia Heritage Corridor

When most people think of Savannah, Ga. and surrounding coastal Georgia these days, they are typically more prone to identify good ole southern cooking as practiced by our resident television personality, Paula Deen, of Lady and Sons fame or the white sandy shores of Jekyll Island. But long before an ever growing number of Paula lovers found their way to our Savannah Food Network Star’s restaurant, we were and still are more typically identified for our rich low country history which dates back to Colonial times. Our  old-world themed English inspired city built on the banks of the Savannah River provide a step back in time on our streets of cobblestone amidst townhouse facades that stretch back more than 300 years ago in some instances.  If you have an appetite for pre-colonial era American History, the Georgia Historical Society located in Savannah’s Historic District is strategically located along the “Southern Passages” leg of the Heritage Corridor between St. Augustine, Florida to the south and Georgetown, South Carolina to the north to serve up plenty of tasty morsels for your review.  Housed in impressive Hodgson Hall, circa 1875, this grand old Italianate-Greek Revival structure hosts a treasure trove of manuscripts, records, and artifacts with a wealth of Low Country Georgia History at your disposal. 

The historic multicultural theme of our Lowcountry Georgia Heritage Corridor is one of European conquest of the Amerindian homeland of America’s original inhabitants, conflict between the English, Spanish, and French colonize the region for their European sponsors, the introduction of African slaves to the region to power the economic engine that drove the southern cotton plantation economy right on up to the time of the eventual formation of the Colonial era America on through to the their emancipation at the end of the Civil War in the mid 1860’s.  Long overdue in preserving an important history along this corridor is the recent addition of a clearly defined Gullah/Geechee component that celebrates the contributions to American culture and history made by Africans and African-Americans from the communities up the Atlantic Seaboard from northern Florida as far north as Wilmington, North Carolina.  These rapidly disappearing communities along this Gullah – Geechee Corridor are being preserved for your discovery. Whether your passion for history includes poring over historic manuscripts in a museum setting, discovering Native American shell rings in remote barrier island areas, touring Spanish and English Fortifications, going native in a Gullah/Geechee Island Community, or taking a history themed day trip through coastal Georgia, there is no better place to step back in time than Lowcountry Georgia with Savannah’s Historic District serving as your base camp.