Lazaretto

Lazaretto is a Georgia historical marker in Chatham County, dedicated 1958.

US 80 west of Lazaretto Creek on Tybee Island.

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After the repeal of the anti-slavery provision in the Charter of the Colony of Georgia in 1749, an act permitting the importation of slaves ordered the erection of a Lazaretto (Quarantine Station) on Tybee Island. Not until 1767 were 104 acres purchased from Josiah Tattnall for this purpose. Completed the following year, the buildings were situated on the westernmost tip of Tybee, at the mouth of what soon became known as Lazaretto Creek. In its hospital voyagers who arrived ill were treated and those who died were buried in unmarked graves. After continuous use through the Revolution, the Grand Jury reported it in ruinous condition in 1785 and a new station was later erected on Cockspur Island.

Maps this old were drawn largely by eye, so places on them can sit miles from where they really are. The pin is ours and marks the marker's location today.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1746 · A Map of the British Empire in America. (Sheet 10). (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1764 · Carte de la Nouvelle Georgie (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1778 · Parte Orientale della Florida, della Giorgia, e Carolina Meridionale. Fogl. XI (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1874 · Plache VII. Sea Islands. (Carolina du Sud). (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
[Savannah River and Savannah Sound]. (University of Michigan Library)

A Map of the British Empire in America. (Sheet 10), 1746, covering the location of Lazaretto, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — A Map of the British Empire in America. (Sheet 10), 1746, covering this location. David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries. The pin is ours, placed from the marker's coordinates.

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For example, one family's tree showed the Articles of Confederation marker in Pennsylvania standing under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s.

What that marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years there.

From one family's 77-marker roster

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The marker isn't at this spotOur pin may be off. If you know where it stands, tell us.I couldn't find the markerWe record what the source recorded. We have not been to look.The sign reads differentlyThat would be an error, and we can pass it to the program.The historical map looks wrongThe period map behind the pin, not the marker itself.Something else

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This historical marker is part of the Georgia Historical Marker Program and was erected by the Georgia Historical Commission. Marker texts and locations come from the Society's own marker database.

More markers nearby

Federal Batteries on Tybee Islandunder 1 mi
History of Emancipation: Gen. David Hunter and General Orders No. 71 mi
Cockspur Island Lighthouse1 mi
The Waving Girl1 mi