Davenport House Museum
324 East State Street
Savannah GA 31401
Phone: 912-236-8097
Fax: 912-233-7938
Email: [email protected]
Description:
History Of the Davenport House:
The Davenport House was completed circa 1820 by master builder Isaiah Davenport and his crew. He owned nine slaves, some of which were skilled laborers that made up his work crew. The home was a residence for his household as well as a showplace for his quality work. Isaiah lived in the home with his family until his death from yellow fever in 1827.
Sarah Davenport was able to keep her family's home until 1840 by renting out the skilled labor of her slaves and renting out rooms after the death of her husband. When she sold the Davenport House, she moved to another residence in the downtown area and opened it as a boarding house.
By the early 20th century, the Davenport House had become a tenement, housing as many as 10 families in its rooms. Savannah's city market building was demolished in 1954 and the Davenport House was slated to be torn down in 1955 in order to make room for a parking lot for a funeral home that was located across the street. Seven prominent Savannah women did not want to lose another historic building, so they banded together to raise the $22,500 needed to purchase the house. Saving the Davenport House from the wrecking ball was the founding act of the Historic Savannah Foundation.
The house was used as office space until enough money could be raised to restore it. It opened as a museum in 1963 and underwent a second restoration in 2000-03 in order to return the house to its original 1820s state.