Timeline of Savannah, Georgia

The following is a timeline of the history of Savannah, Georgia, United States.

18th century

 * 1733
 * Savannah founded in British Colony of Georgia by James Oglethorpe.
 * Ellis, Johnson, Percival, and St. James Squares laid out per Oglethorpe Plan.
 * 1734
 * Reynolds Square laid out.
 * Solomon's Lodge (Masonic lodge) founded.
 * 1735 – Congregation Mickve Israel formed.
 * 1739 – October 5: Creek leader Tomochichi died. He is buried in Percival Square.
 * 1740 – Bethesda Orphanage founded near town.
 * 1742 – Oglethorpe Square laid out.
 * 1750
 * Colonial Park Cemetery established.
 * Christ Church built.
 * Savannah Female Asylum founded.
 * 1754
 * Savannah becomes capital of British Province of Georgia.
 * Pirates' House Inn in business.
 * 1755
 * January 1: Georgia legislature convenes.
 * Independent Presbyterian Church founded.
 * 1762 – Bonaventure Plantation established.
 * c. 1764 – The Christian Camphor Cottage was built. It is believed to be the city's oldest extant structure.
 * 1765
 * Levi Sheftall Family Cemetery established.
 * Greenwich Plantation established.
 * 1771 – Habersham House completed.
 * 1773 – Mordecai Sheftall Cemetery established (possibly 1769).
 * 1775
 * January: Provincial Congress held.
 * June: Committee of Safety organized at the liberty pole.
 * 1776 (or before) – The Eppinger House was built. It is believed to be the oldest extant brick structure in the city.
 * 1778
 * December 29: Battle of Savannah; British in power.
 * Georgia state capital relocated from Savannah to Augusta.
 * 1779
 * Town Hall built.
 * Siege of Savannah.
 * 1782
 * British occupation ends.
 * Georgia state capital relocated to Savannah from Augusta.
 * 1786
 * Georgia state capital relocated again from Savannah to Augusta.
 * Chatham Artillery established.
 * 1788
 * Town becomes part of the U.S. state of Georgia.
 * African Baptist Church and Chatham Academy established.
 * 1789 – Savannah chartered as a city.
 * 1790
 * John Houstoun becomes mayor.
 * Franklin Square and Washington Square laid out
 * 1791 – Warren Square laid out.
 * 1796 – November 26: Fire.
 * 1799 – City Exchange constructed, replacing one that burned in 1796. Columbia Square and Greene Square laid out.

19th century

 * 1800 – Population: 5,146.
 * 1802 – Savannah Volunteer Guards established.
 * 1804
 * Seamen's Hospital opens.
 * Bonaventure Plantation destroyed by fire.
 * Lebanon Plantation established.
 * 1809 – Savannah Society Library founded.
 * 1810 – Population: 5,315.
 * 1812 – Hibernian Society organized.
 * 1813 – Oliver Sturges House built.
 * 1815 – Orleans Square and Chippewa Square laid out.
 * 1817 – Savannah Steamboat Company in business.
 * 1818
 * Telfair Academy built.
 * The Savannah Theatre established.
 * 1819
 * May: Steamboat Savannah travels to Liverpool, England.
 * May: U.S. President Monroe visits town.
 * William Scarbrough House (residence) built.
 * Owens–Thomas House (residence built).
 * 1820
 * January: Fire.
 * Isaiah Davenport House built.
 * 1821 – The city's first hotel, City Hotel, is completed.
 * 1824 – Savannah Fire Company formed.
 * 1825 – March: Lafayette visits town.
 * 1830
 * Nathanael Greene Monument in Johnson Square completed.
 * Population: 7,303.
 * 1831 – Savannah–Ogeechee Canal constructed.
 * 1833 – First Baptist Church built.
 * 1834 – Oglethorpe Barracks built (approximate date).
 * 1837
 * Pulaski Square, Lafayette Square, Madison Square and Troup Square laid out.
 * Central of Georgia Railroad begins operating.
 * 1839 – Georgia Historical Society organized.
 * 1840
 * Sorrel–Weed House built.
 * Population: 11,214.
 * 1841 – Crawford Square laid out.
 * 1842 – Convent of St. Vincent de Paul founded.
 * 1844 – Savannah Institution for Savings instituted.
 * 1846 – Bonaventure Cemetery established near town.
 * 1847
 * Chatham Square and Monterey Square laid out.
 * Fort Pulaski built near town.
 * 1848
 * Customhouse built.
 * Population: 13,573.
 * 1850
 * Daily Morning News begins publication.
 * 1851
 * Calhoun Square and Whitefield Square laid out.
 * The Marshall House opens.
 * 1853
 * Forsyth Place (park) laid out.
 * Catholic Diocese of Savannah and Laurel Grove Cemetery established.
 * St. John's Church consecrated.
 * Green–Meldrim House built.
 * Georgia State Railroad Museum built.
 * 1854
 * Yellow fever outbreak.
 * Central of Georgia Railway Company Shop Property built.
 * Augusta and Savannah Railroad in operation (approximate date).
 * 1855 – Young Men's Literary Association organized.
 * 1858 – Old Harbor Light erected.
 * 1859
 * First African Baptist Church rebuilt.
 * The Great Slave Auction at Ten Broeck Race Course, March 2 & 3.
 * John G. Lawton riverboat explodes, June 9
 * 1860 – Central of Georgia Depot and Trainshed built.
 * 1861
 * March 21: Cornerstone Speech by Alexander H. Stephens.
 * Port blockaded by U.S. government.
 * [[File:Recto Bank of Commerce (Savannah Georgia) 4 dollars 1864 urn-3 HBS.Baker.AC 1104544.jpeg|alt=4 dollar banknote from the Bank of Commerce in Savannah, Georgia. Inscription: "THE BANK OF COMMERCE Will Pay the Bearer FOUR DOLLARS in Confederate States Treasury Notes, when presented in sums of Five Dollars, and upwards. Savannah, April 1st, 1864."|thumb|4 dollar banknote from the Bank of Commerce in Savannah, Georgia, 1864.]]Green House (residence) built.
 * 1864 – December 22: Savannah taken by Union forces.
 * 1866 – City board of education incorporated.
 * 1867 – Beach Institute established.
 * 1868 – Mercer House (residence) built (approximate date).
 * 1870 – McCarthy's Business College established.
 * 1871 – Abend Zeitung newspaper begins publication.
 * 1873 – First Bryan Baptist Church rebuilt.
 * 1874 – Youth's Historical Society founded.
 * 1875
 * Civil War Memorial in Forsyth Park dedicated.
 * Colored Tribune newspaper begins publication.
 * Savannah Rifle Association established.
 * 1876
 * Cathedral of St. John the Baptist dedicated.
 * Another yellow fever outbreak (see J. W. Schull)
 * 1878 – Congregation Mickve Israel synagogue built.
 * 1879 – City boundaries expanded.
 * 1880
 * Confederate memorial built in Forsyth Park.
 * Population: 30,709.
 * 1882 – Ford Dramatic Association incorporated.
 * 1883
 * City boundaries expanded.
 * William Washington Gordon Monument in Wright Square completed.
 * 1886 – Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences opens.
 * 1887
 * Savannah Cotton Exchange building built.
 * Tybee-Savannah railway built.
 * 1888 – William Jasper Monument in Madison Square dedicated.
 * 1890 – Population: 43,189.
 * 1891 – Georgia Industrial College established.
 * 1893 – August: Sea Islands hurricane.
 * 1898 - Fire at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist.
 * 1899
 * Kate Baldwin Free Kindergarten established.
 * Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse built.
 * 1900
 * Population: 54,244.
 * Great Dane Trailers founded as the Savannah Blowpipe Company

20th century

 * 1901
 * City boundaries expanded.
 * Hill Hall at Savannah State College built.
 * 1902
 * Benedictine College founded.
 * Savannah Union Station completed.
 * 1904 – City Exchange demolished.
 * 1906 – Savannah City Hall built.
 * 1908 – Savannah, Augusta and Northern Railway in operation (approximate date).
 * 1909 – December: Savannah axe murders
 * 1910
 * James Oglethorpe Monument in Chippewa Square dedicated.
 * Population: 65,064.
 * 1912 – Girl Guides of America founded.
 * 1914 – East Henry Street Carnegie Library opens.
 * 1919
 * Armstrong House completed.
 * April: Savannah Centennial Pageant performed.
 * 1920 – Population: 83,252.
 * 1921 – Lucas Theatre built
 * 1925 – Savannah Economic Development Authority established.
 * 1926 – Municipal Stadium built.
 * 1929
 * WTOC radio begins broadcasting.
 * Savannah Municipal Airport begins operating.
 * Savannah Technical College established.
 * 1933 – Greenwich Cemetery established.
 * 1935
 * Armstrong Junior College founded.
 * Union Bag and Paper opens mill.
 * 1938 – Atlantic Greyhound Bus Terminal built.
 * 1939 – WSAV radio begins broadcasting.
 * 1940 – Coastal Transitional Center opened.
 * 1942 – U.S. Army Chatham Field (airfield) active.
 * 1950 – Little Theatre of Savannah founded.
 * 1951 – Palm Drive-In movie theatre opens.
 * 1953 – Talmadge Memorial Bridge built to Hutchinson Island.
 * 1954
 * Council–manager form of government adopted.
 * WTOC-TV (television) begins broadcasting.
 * 1955 – Historic Savannah Foundation organized.
 * 1956
 * WSAV-TV (television) begins broadcasting.
 * Juliette Gordon Low house museum opens.
 * 1960
 * Savannah Protest Movement commenced
 * Travis Field airport terminal built.
 * Population: 147,537.
 * 1962 – Savannah station built.
 * 1963 – Savannah Union Station demolished.
 * 1967 – Grumman Aircraft Engineering Co. opens Savannah office.
 * 1968
 * The DeSoto Hotel opens.
 * Abercorn Plaza shopping centre opens for business.
 * 1969 – Oglethorpe Mall opens up for business.
 * 1970
 * John Rousakis becomes mayor.
 * Population: 118,349.
 * 1974 – Savannah Civic Center opens.
 * 1976 – Abercorn Cinema opens.
 * 1977 – City Records Committee established.
 * 1978 – Savannah College of Art and Design founded.
 * 1979 – September: Hurricane David makes landfall.
 * 1980
 * Hyatt Regency Savannah opens.
 * 1981
 * Coastal State Prison built.
 * May 2: The shooting of Danny Hansford occurs at Mercer House, the basis of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
 * 1986 – Chatham Area Transit established.
 * 1988 – Savannah Music Festival founded.
 * 1990
 * Savannah Mall (the city's second shopping mall) in business.
 * Talmadge Memorial Bridge rebuilt.
 * 1991
 * Vietnam Veterans Memorial built in Emmet Park.
 * Lady & Sons restaurant in business.
 * 1994
 * Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport terminal built.
 * Bestseller book about Savannah Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil published.
 * 1998
 * Savannah Arts Academy established.
 * Floyd Adams becomes the first African American to become the Mayor of the City of Savannah.
 * 1999
 * Georgia Tech Savannah established.
 * City website online (approximate date).

21st century

 * 2000 – Lucas Theatre renovated.
 * 2002
 * African-American Monument on River Street dedicated.
 * Islamic Center of Savannah established.
 * 2004 – Otis Johnson becomes mayor.
 * 2005
 * Abercorn Walk shopping center in business.
 * Savannah-Chatham Metro Police established.
 * 2009 – The Savannah Philharmonic Orchestra is established.
 * 2010 – Population: 136,286.
 * 2012
 * Edna Jackson becomes mayor.
 * Savannah Law School established.
 * 2016
 * Eddie Deloach becomes mayor, first Republican since 1996.
 * All of Savannah and Chatham county east of I95 was evacuated ahead of Hurricane Matthew.
 * 2017 – All of Savannah and Chatham County east of I95 evacuated due to the impact of Hurricane Irma.
 * 2018
 * Savannah Law School closed.
 * City and county police merger ends, separating the two agencies.
 * Roy Minter sworn in as new police chief of Savannah Police Department.
 * 2022 – Population: 147,780 (+11,494 since 2010)

Published in 18th–19th century

 * 1881
 * 1884
 * 1896
 * 1881
 * 1884
 * 1896
 * 1881
 * 1884
 * 1896
 * 1881
 * 1884
 * 1896
 * 1881
 * 1884
 * 1896
 * 1896

Published in 20th century

 * 1900s–1950s


 * 1950s–1990s
 * Alexander A. Lawrence, A Present for Mr. Lincoln: The Story of Savannah from Secession to Sherman (Macon, Ga.: Ardivan Press, 1961).
 * Preston Russell and Barbara Hines, Savannah: A History of Her People since 1733 (Savannah, Ga.: Frederic C. Beil, 1992).
 * Whittington B. Johnson, Black Savannah, 1788-1864 (Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 1996).
 * Derek Smith, Civil War Savannah (Savannah, Ga.: Frederic C. Beil, 1997).
 * Patrick Allen, ed., Literary Savannah (Athens, Ga.: Hill Street Press, 1998).
 * Whittington B. Johnson, Black Savannah, 1788-1864 (Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 1996).
 * Derek Smith, Civil War Savannah (Savannah, Ga.: Frederic C. Beil, 1997).
 * Patrick Allen, ed., Literary Savannah (Athens, Ga.: Hill Street Press, 1998).

Published in 21st century

 * Mills B. Lane, Savannah Revisited: History and Architecture, 5th ed. (Savannah, Ga.: Beehive Press, 2001).
 * Walter J. Fraser Jr., Savannah in the Old South (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2003).
 * Jacqueline Jones, Saving Savannah: The City and the Civil War (New York: Knopf, 2008).
 * Jacqueline Jones, Saving Savannah: The City and the Civil War (New York: Knopf, 2008).
 * Jacqueline Jones, Saving Savannah: The City and the Civil War (New York: Knopf, 2008).