Historic Savannah Foundation
AbbreviationHSF
Founded1955 (1955)
FoundersAnna Colquitt Hunter
• Katherine Judkins Clark
• Elinor Adler Dillard
• Lucy Barrow McIntire
• Dorothy Ripley Roebling
• Nola McEvoy Roos
• Jane Adair Wright
TypeNon-profit
FocusPreserving and protecting historic buildings
Headquarters321 East York Street[1]
Location
Area served
Savannah, Georgia, U.S.
ServicesPreservation
Key people
• Susan Adler (CEO and President)[2]
• Ryan Arvay (Director of Preservation and Historic Properties)[2]
Websitehttps://www.myhsf.org/

Historic Savannah Foundation (HSF) is a preservation organization founded in 1955 and based in Savannah, Georgia, United States.[3]

In 1950, the four-story Wetter House on East Oglethorpe was demolished.[4][5] This, combined with the razing of Savannah's popular City Market in Ellis Square, to be replaced by a parking garage, prompted a public outcry.[6] The following year, a funeral home was set to purchase the Isaiah Davenport House in Columbia Square and tear it down for a parking lot.[5] This sparked a movement to start a preservation process in the city.[5]

"What began as an effort to save one house quickly turned into an organized movement that went on to save an entire city." – Historic Savannah Foundation[5]

Local journalist, artist and activist Anna Colquitt Hunter (1892–1985)[7] formed a group with six of her friends to block the demolition of the house and formed the Historic Savannah Foundation. The group managed to raise the $22,500 needed to purchase the property themselves.[5]

The office of the foundation is in the southwest tything of the Columbia Square, at the Abraham Sheftall House, 321 East York Street.[1] It had formerly been at the Isaiah Davenport House at 324 East State Street.[8]

The Foundation bestows its highest honor, the Davenport Award, on select individuals.[9]

In 1977, the foundation published Historic Savannah: A Survey of Significant Buildings in the Historic and Victorian Districts of Savannah, Georgia.

Founders

  • Anna Colquitt Hunter (1892–1985)
  • Katherine "Kass"[9] Judkins Clark (1897–1993)[10]
  • Elinor Adler Dillard (1903–1992)[10]
  • Lucy Barrow McIntire (1886–1967)[10]
  • Dorothy Ripley Roebling (1904–1977)[10]
  • Nola McEvoy Roos (1895–1980)[10]
  • Jane Adair Wright (1901–1991)[10]

Lee Adler, son of Elinor Adler Dillard, served as the Foundation's president for six terms.[11]

Plaques

References

  1. 1 2 Historic Savannah Foundation – Savannah Area Chamber
  2. 1 2 Staff – mhysf.org
  3. "Historic Savannah Foundation names new board members for 2021"Savannah Morning News, January 22, 2021
  4. Historic Savannah Foundation – Savannah Chamber of Commerce
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Our Story – mhysf.org
  6. Savannah Morning News and Evening PressClemson University, May 1981
  7. Anna Colquitt Hunter – Georgia Women of Achievement
  8. Building Data Sheet, Historic Savannah Inventory, Anson Ward
  9. 1 2 Sickler, Linda. "Cornelia Rankin Groves witnessed Savannah's preservation movement come to life and was dedicated to bringing it forward". Savannah Morning News. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Founders – Davenport House Museum
  11. BYNUM, RUSS. "Lee Adler, historic preservationist, dies at 88". Online Athens. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
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