Colonial Town Gate; Davenport House

Colonial Town Gate; Davenport House is a Georgia historical marker in Chatham County, dedicated 1959.

On Columbia Square, at the intersection of Habersham and State Streets in Savannah.

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In 1757, during the administration of royal Governor Henry Ellis, a line of earthwork defenses, including a palisade, was erected around Savannah. Immediately west of this marker was located Bethesda Gate, one of the six entrances into the town. Through Bethesda Gate passed the Sea Island Road connecting Savannah and the tidewater settlements to the east and southeast. This square, known as Columbia Square, was laid out in 1799. Facing it on the north is the "Davenport House," one of the handsomest examples of Georgian architecture in the South. This finely proportioned dwelling, completed in 1820, was designed and built by its owner, Isaiah Davenport (1784-1827), one of Savannah's outstanding builder-architects. In 1956 the "Davenport House" was restored by Historic Savannah Foundation as the first preservation project of that organization. It is open to the public at certain times during the week.

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

1755 · (Canada, Louisiane et Terres Angloises. Southeast section) (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1764 · Carte de la Nouvelle Georgie (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1776 · A General Map of the Southern British Colonies, in America. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1778 · Parte Orientale della Florida, della Giorgia, e Carolina Meridionale. Fogl. XI (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1795 · State of South Carolina. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

Parte Orientale della Florida, della Giorgia, e Carolina Meridionale. Fogl. XI, 1778, covering the location of Colonial Town Gate; Davenport House, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — Parte Orientale della Florida, della Giorgia, e Carolina Meridionale. Fogl. XI, 1778, 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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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

The Berrien House (c. 1791)under 1 mi
Owens-Thomas Houseunder 1 mi
Conrad Aikenunder 1 mi
The Georgia Civil Rights Trail: The Savannah Protest Movementunder 1 mi

On the National Register nearby

Isaiah Davenport House130 ft

Places within about 300 feet of this marker that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A nearby listing is not always the marker's own subject.