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By 1820 what is now known as Factor’s Walk and its walls was taking shape. Merchant William Taylor asked the City Council to divide the expenses to be “incurred by him and the erection of a stone wall leading from the row of trees on the Bay along the west of Banard street down to the brick stores owned by him.” Two years later the city kicked in $400 for their half of the project. Taylor was required to supply all materials.
In one section of Factor’s Walk where it intersects with Abercorn Street Ramp, The back windows and doors off a building were bricked up and soil filled in behind to make the upper street level. The building, behind what is now the Cotton Exchange Restaurant (32.080757° -81.088791°), was either destroyed or divided off of the main building. The Doors are now visible opposite the back door of the restaurant, under the main roadway of Factor’s Walk.
Factor’s Walk continued to expand. R&J Bolton asked for permission from the City Council in 1822 to “to excavate a street 36 feet wide on the south side of Commerce row.” Permission was granted. Factor’s Walk was growing in sections. Four years later public safety became an issue and the City Council ordered that railings be “installed for the safety of the public” at the owner’s expense.
By 1843 the need for access east of the city was obvious and “River Street” below Factor’s Walk was ordered extended eastward around the corner to connect with Bay at the base of the bluff. River Street as noted above in quotes is done so because until that time what is now known as “Factor’s Walk” was named “River Street”. On the water side of the warehouses was simply a disjointed route of accesses for each warehouse section.
At the extension of the “new” River Street, in proper capitalistic style, Captain Willink, the owner of the wharf, demanded $5,000 for the small triangle of land that road would take form his property. It is not reported if he received what would have been a considerable price at that time.
At Site N (32.080255° -81.086332°) note the cables and clips on the wall. These are the remains of tarp coverings that were once numerous around Savannah’s commerce district. Tarps were hung horizontally between the building and these cables to provide shade in the summertime. Photos of Factor’s Walk show the awnings erected to avoid Savannah’s boiling-hot summer weather.
Along the section of wall labeled Site O (32.080459° -81.087362°) you can see the bricked-up ghost of doorways. They were once extremely important locations in the warehouse district – they were privies. Many can be found along Factor’s Walk.
Near here, at the start of the long stretch of brick wall, you can find the ghost of a stairway that has been bricked up. Iron stairs have replaced the older steep-stepped access. Under the iron stairs the bottom two steps of the stone stairway are still visible.
Cross Lincoln Street, Site P, (32.080522° -81.087897°) to the back of the stairway on the west side of the ramp. On the backside of the stairs you can see that they were built at a later date than the wall. The “cold” joint between the two sections of stone are not intertwined showing they were built at different times. Near the base of the stairs a green rock can be seen. It is probably copper ore that was to be loaded into the hold of a ship around the mid 1850s. Over the years as water dripped over the ore, copper molecules coated the stone below adding the bright green veneer to it. Mentioned as a major growing export in the 1855 Mayor’s Report, copper dwindled as an exportable product. Twenty years later only three hogsheads were shipped from the port of Savannah.
Back across the ramp, Site P-1 you can also see evidence of two building times on this wall. Low to the road is an older retaining wall that stands between one-and-one-half and three feet high. The mason’s style on the lower is more jumbled with less obvious courses than the newer courses of rock above. The upper area, finished in 1855 and also built by Michael Cash, is more refined with distinct courses in the rock work. Masonry styles in savannah from the late 1700s tend to have the more primitive style of the lower section. This factor could indicate that the lower wall is from that era.
Follow the route to Site Q (32.079196° -81.086295°). Along this route are some of the oldest homes in Savannah referred to as the “Old Fort District” by the locals. Many are from the late 1700s and early 1800s. The house at the northwest corner of Bryan and Price Streets has an exterior stucco resembling tabby. Tabby is a primitive concrete made of oyster shells, lime, sand and water. Several older homes in the area were made from the mixture including the Owens-Thomas House (32.077362° -81.089383°) and Wormsloe Plantation (31.959611° -81.069696°). The style was revived in the mid to late Twentieth Century and used to emulate old architectural styles. As you continue along the “tabby” sidewalk toward Site R, you will pass a row of town homes that have been dubbed “Savannah’s Rainbow Row”. The structure is built in the Italianate style and dates fro the late 1800s.
At Site R (32.078664° -81.085238°) is the building that now houses the Mulberry Inn Hotel. The building, originally built in several sections,, served as a livery and later as a cotton warehouse. At the far southwest corner of the lot was the residence of Michael Cash, the stone mason. The various sections of the current building were remodeled and connected to crate today’s structure. In the early 1900s it was transformed into the location of the first franchise for the Atlanta based Coca Cola Company. It was here that Savannah Resident William Harley loaded his mule drawn wagon and made deliveries around the city. During Coca Cola’s seventy-fifth anniversary celebration a photograph of Harley and his wagon adorned everything from billboards to belt buckles. Born in 1865, a few days after President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, he lived most of his life in Savannah. At one time Harley operated a grocery store in the building that now houses the world famous Clary’s Restaurant (32.071678° -81.092230°).
At Site S (32.078432° -81.085108°) star shaped medallions called earthquake and hurricane braces can be the side of the building. In 1886 a major earthquake struck Charleston, South Carolina destroying much of the town. Savannah suffered heavy damage as well. The braces are attached to an iron rod that runs the length of the structure to reduce damage in the event of a quake. For earthquakes or hurricanes, the devices were implemented as insurance for either catastrophic event.
Enter Washington Square, Site T (32.078225° -81.085512°) and walk to the south side of the main lawn. Insurance inspector J.J. Broomfield wrote in 1846 that, “In every Square there is a public well, and Pump for the Supply of the neighborhood, and the wastewater rund (sic) into an underground Tank, so that in case of fire there is always a supply [of water] on hand without exhausting the Well….” You are standing over one of the tanks mentioned in the letter.
On the south side of the south sidewalk is a manhole cover with the inscription “City of Savannah 1870”. This is the entrance to the cistern below. Here the cistern’s presence is obvious by the raised lawn in the square. The top of the tank is about two feet under the sod. Most other squares have cisterns, but many of their entrances are covered by soil or hidden in the landscaping and shrubbery.
This eastern section of Savannah, as noted, is often still called the Fort District because of its proximity to Fort Wayne. Another name often used is “Foley’s Alley” referring to the Irish inhabitants who were, and some still are, living here since the mid-1800s.
Savannah’s historic downtown area was designed for the practicality of the times. Upper class citizens generally lived in the center of the city along Bull and Abercorn Streets. The middle class were on the sides, east and west, along parallel streets and the “work” classes lived along the outer edges including East Broad Street and West Broad Street. West Broad Street is not MLK Jr. Boulevard. Without efficient public transportation domestic workers could walk into the center of town and their jobs as “domestics” in the homes of the upper and middle classes.
Site U (32.078350° -81.086074°) takes in several houses along this block of East St. Julian Street. The first building on the east end of the section is the International Seamen’s House, an organization started by the Savannah Port Society. Still aiding sailors in their legal, recreational and religious needs, the Society was organized in 1843.
Next door to the Seamen’s House is the Hampton Lillibridge house. In 1963 Jim Williams, who was made famous in the book, “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil”, had the house moved here from 310 East Bryan Street. Lillibridge was a Planter who was originally fro Rhode Island. He built the house around 1797. Shortly after the building was moved, an exorcism was performed by an Episcopalian bishop at Williams request to rid the house of strange noises and happenings.
The third house on the block, the small cottage, can be traced back to about 1800. Records have yet to be found to determine its true building date. However, some of the deeds on record are the original hand written copies from just after that era.
Along the next block, Site V (32.078612° -81.087105°), note the siding on the old homes. The second building, a Georgian style house at 419, shows “tacked” siding where nail heads are incorporated onto the construction and design. The two houses facing the square have beaded siding. The bead and groove were typical in the late 1700s and were designed to force water away from the house. The siding is also sometimes called “drip siding” and is now rarely used due to milling cost involved.
Warren Square is a good example of how the squares used to look. Most squares, other than those along Bull Street, did not have monuments and were designed to allow traffic to travel through their centers. Here in Warren Square you can see the road area between the sidewalks. This allowed traffic to travel north and south through the square.
Trolley lines ran through most of Savannah’s Squares. Here a line ran east and west along St. Julian Street as seen at Site W (32.078727° -81.087201°). Granite curbing is missing at this section where the trolley entered and exited the square through the space just wide enough to accommodate the vehicle.
In the late 1940s trolleys were replaced by a bus system. The trolley tracks were taken up and traffic was prohibited from driving through the center of the squares. However, a lane for fire trucks remained through the center of the squares.
On the north and south sides of the square, Site X (32.078984° -81.087275°), you can still see how the granite curbing drops down so emergency vehicles could drive through without a large bump.
Legend says that the Warren Square area is where early Colonial executions took place. It the legend is true, in 1734 three Irish indentured servants were hanged here, Richard White, Alice Riley and William Shannon. Later the execution area was moved to the jail located at what is now Lafayette Square. In fact, the Jail stood on the same spot as the Andrew Low House where Julliette Gordon Low established the headquarters for the Girl Scouts of America. Walk to the lane intersection of Lincoln Street between Bay and Bryan Streets, Site Y (32.079315° -81.088102°). At this spot in 1757 was the city gate for access to the Trustee’s Garden area.
Proceed to Site Z (32.079344° -81.089386°). In 1791 President George Washington visited Savannah. At that time the Filature House on the corner of Abercorn and Bryan Streets. A ball was given in honor of Washington at this location.in the center of the square is a statue of John Wesley who was an Anglican minister at Christ Church in 1736. Around the statue you can see where the streets crossed in the square before the traffic was prohibited. Brick pavers now cover the entire intersection. Here in Reynolds Square are several features that you may not have noticed. Sections of sidewalk laid before the closing are scored into three foot by four foot sections. Newer sections, covering the former road section, are one single pour about thirty feet long by six feet wide.
Differences in the paving of the current streets show patching over routes of the trolleys as they ran along St. Julian Street, east and west. At the corners of the square are concrete patches that were filled to accommodate automobiles. Cars and busses need a wider turning area, so the curbs were moved on the four corners and concrete filled the triangular section of roadway.
Now you are back where you started. As you visit other areas of the Historic District try to find “visual” archaeology. Later, you’ll find that you have an increased awareness of the things around that you don’t normally see. Your own city, home and neighborhood will begin telling their forgotten stories.
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