Herb House

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Herb House
Herb House.jpg
The building in 2021
Herb House
Interactive map of the Herb House area
General information
Location Savannah, Georgia, U.S., 26 East Broad Street
Coordinates 32°04′42″N81°05′02″W / 32.07827°N 81.08393°W / 32.07827; -81.08393
Completed1853(173 years ago) (1853)
OwnerThe Savannah Gas Company
Technical details
Floor count2

The Herb House is a historic building in downtown Savannah, Georgia, United States. [1] It was constructed, in local handmade brick, in 1853 (at least, that is the year it first appears on a map). [2] Erroneous sources have stated the building was constructed in the 1730s, which would have made it the oldest extant building in the state of Georgia. [3] [4] The building is now part of the restaurant Pirates' House, the buildings for which both pre- (1794) and post-date (1871) it. [2]

Contents

History

The Herb House was built on a ten-acre plot of land located on the east side of James Oglethorpe's original plan of the city of Savannah. The plot was assigned to become a botanical garden that modeled the Chelsea Botanical Garden in London, England. The garden, which was located beyond the bounds of today's buildings, [5] was dedicated to Oglethorpe's trustees, becoming known as the Trustees' Garden.

The building was constructed on the plot of land around 1853 to house the gardener who worked there. This building was deemed the Herb House. A hay loft, where the gardener slept, was on the second floor of the building. The front of the first floor was used for tools and gardening supplies, [5] while the rear was stables. [6]

Renovation and ownership

In 1948, Pirates' House and the surrounding land was acquired by The Savannah Gas Company. The building soon caught the interest of Mary Hillyer, wife Hansell Hillyer, [7] the president of the company. She renewed the house museum into the restaurant of the present day. [8]

References

  1. ↑ The National Trust Guide to Savannah, Roulhac Toledano (Wiley Publishing, 1997), p. 86 ISBN   9780471155683
  2. 1 2 Historic Building Map: Savannah Historic District – Historic Preservation Department of the Chatham County-Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission (November 17, 2011), p. 116
  3. ↑ McCarthy, Kevin M. Georgia's Lighthouses and Historic Coastal Sites. Pineapple Press, 1998, p. 9.
  4. ↑ Brown, Alan. Haunted Places in the American South. Univ. Press of Mississippi, 2002, p. 77.
  5. 1 2 "The Herb House is the oldest house, and home to the oldest Ghost in Savannah" – WTOC
  6. ↑ Savannah in History: A Guide to More Than 75 Sites in Historical Context, Rodney Carlisle and Loretta Carlisle (Globe Pequot, 2019), p. 7 ISBN   9781683340287
  7. ↑ Toledano, Roulhac (1997-04-03). The National Trust Guide to Savannah. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN   978-0-471-15568-3.
  8. ↑ "History – The Pirate's House" . Retrieved 2024-01-26.
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