Savannah | |
|---|---|
Downtown Savannah viewed from Bay Street | |
 Flag  Seal  Logo | |
| Nickname: "The Hostess City of the South" | |
    | |
| Coordinates: 32°04′52″N 81°05′28″W / 32.08111°N 81.09111°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Georgia |
| County | Chatham |
| Established | February 12, 1733 |
| Founded by | James Oglethorpe |
| Named for | Savannah River |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Van R. Johnson (D) |
| • City Manager | Joseph Melder |
| Area | |
• City | 113.27 sq mi (293.36 km2) |
| • Land | 108.50 sq mi (281.01 km2) |
| • Water | 4.77 sq mi (12.35 km2) |
| Elevation | 20 ft (6 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• City | 147,780  |
| • Rank | 185th in the United States 5th in Georgia |
| • Density | 1,300/sq mi (500/km2) |
| • Urban | 309,466 (US: 132nd)[2] |
| • Urban density | 1,503.4/sq mi (580.5/km2) |
| • Metro | 404,798 (US: 135th) |
| Demonym | Savannahian |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| ZIP Codes | 31401–31412, 31414-31416, 31418-31421 |
| Area code | 912 |
| FIPS code | 13-69000[5] |
| GNIS feature ID | 0322590[3] |
| Website | savannahga.gov |
Savannah (/səˈvænə/ sə-VAN-ə) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the British colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia.[6] A strategic port city in the American Revolution and during the American Civil War,[7] Savannah is today an industrial center and an important Atlantic seaport. It is Georgia's fifth most populous city, with a 2020 U.S. census population of 147,780.[8] The Savannah metropolitan area, Georgia's third-largest, had a 2020 population of 404,798.[4]
Savannah attracts millions of visitors each year to its cobblestone streets, parks, and notable historic buildings. These include the birthplace of Juliette Gordon Low (founder of the Girl Scouts of the USA), the Georgia Historical Society (the oldest continually operating historical society in the South), the Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences (one of the South's first public museums), the First African Baptist Church (one of the oldest African-American Baptist congregations in the United States), Temple Mickve Israel (the third-oldest synagogue in the U.S.), and the Central of Georgia Railway roundhouse complex (the oldest standing antebellum rail facility in the U.S. and now a museum and visitor center).[6][9]
Savannah's downtown area, which includes the Savannah Historic District, its 22 parklike squares, and the Savannah Victorian Historic District, is one of the largest National Historic Landmark Districts in the United States (designated by the federal government in 1966).[6] Downtown Savannah largely retains the founder James Oglethorpe's original town plan, a design known as the Oglethorpe Plan. During the 1996 Summer Olympics hosted by Atlanta, Savannah held sailing competitions in the nearby Wassaw Sound.
- ^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
- ^ United States Census Bureau (December 29, 2022). "2020 Census Qualifying Urban Areas and Final Criteria Clarifications". Federal Register.
- ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Savannah, Georgia
- ^ a b "2020 Population and Housing State Data". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
- ^ "Census.gov". Census.gov.
- ^ a b c "Savannah". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Georgia Humanities Council and the University of Georgia Press. September 11, 2006. Archived from the original on September 8, 2007. Retrieved January 1, 2008.
- ^ "Savannah", in The Concise Columbia Encyclopedia (Columbia University Press, 1994), p. 779.
- ^ "QuickFacts: Savannah city, Georgia". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
- ^ "Savannah Information". Savannah Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. Archived from the original on January 2, 2008. Retrieved January 1, 2008.