| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — 015-8 — "Dead Town" of Hardwicke — »—8 mi.—→ |
| | On May 10, 1754 GEORGE TOWN was established at the "Elbow" of Great Ogeechee River, eight miles east. In February, 1755, Gov. Reynolds, dissatisfied with Savannah as a capital and as a port, chose this new site because it has a charming situation, the winding of the river making it a peninsula; and it is the only fit lofty bluff, the more central location in the province, and the greater distance from the rival
port of Charleston. He renamed it HARDWICKE in honor . . . — Map (db m8364) HM |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — Bryan Neck Missionary Baptist Church |
| | Organized in 1869, this is the oldest African-American church congregation in lower Bryan County. The first structure for the church, a Prayer House, was built in 1870 on this site near the white Presbyterian Church (Burnt Church). London Harris, a freedman and spiritual leader of the local black community, was one of the organizers and first pastors for this church. The church was renovated and enlarged at the time the nearby Carver school was built in 1939. — Map (db m54193) HM |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — Burnt Church Cemetery |
| | Near this site in 1830 the Bryan Neck Presbyterian Church was established, being the oldest organized congregation in Bryan County. The church served the numerous planter families of lower Bryan, which had become one of the most productive agricultural sections on the south Atlantic coast. The church burial ground was adjacent to the wood-frame sanctuary. On these grounds are interred members of some of Bryan County’s most prominent early families, including those of Clay, McAllister and . . . — Map (db m54354) HM |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — C.S.S. Nashville |
| | Built by William Collyer in New York City. She was
ordered by New York merchants and launched September
22, 1853. Her maiden voyage was from New York to
Charleston, South Carolina, under the name United States
Mail Steamship Nashville, with a cargo of mail and
passengers. The bottom of the vessel was sheathed in
copper in 1854 to prevent marine growth. She was overhauled
in 1859, and received new boilers in June 1860.
The Nashville entered Charleston Harbor April . . . — Map (db m12868) HM |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — Canaan Church |
| | The congregation of the Canaan Baptist Church, primarily African-American, was organized in 1913 by Rev. David Boles, Sr., who was pastor, and Brother Fred Gilbert, Deacon. It was the only organized denominational church in what is now Richmond Hill during the early 20th century. The present sanctuary was built with support from Henry Ford. Many of the original congregants of the church were descendants of the antebellum rice plantation slaves of nearby Cherry Hill and Silk Hope plantations. — Map (db m59957) HM |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — Capt. John McCrady — Designer of Fort McAllister |
| | Charlestonian, a student of Agassiz at Harvard, then professor of mathematics at the College of Charleston, he resigned his position at the outbreak of the war and became an officer in the Confederate engineers. Transferred to Savannah he spent his efforts surrounding that city with an extensive ring of defenses.
The rest of his life was academic. He returned to his old professorship in Charleston, later became assistant to Agassiz, then professor of biology at the University of the South, Sewannee, Tennessee. — Map (db m12711) HM |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — Capt. Nicholas Clinch |
| | When called upon by a Union officer to surrender during Sherman`s assault, December 13, 1864, Clinch responded with a blow of his sword. After three sabre, six bayonet, and two gunshot wounds, he was taken. — Map (db m13075) HM |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — Cheves' Rice Mill |
| | From the roof of Cheves' rice mill (2 1/2 miles across the Ogeechee in the direction of the arrow) General Sherman and his staff watched the reduction of Fort McAllister, sunset, December 13, 1864. — Map (db m12914) HM |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — Columbiad |
| | This replica of a coast defense cannon known as the columbiad was manufactured, 1964, by Savannah Machine and Foundry Company as a public service. A similar cannon was positioned here during Union naval attacks, 1863. The columbiad fired 87-lb. shells; its range was 2,500 yds. — Map (db m12776) HM |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — Community House |
| | Outside of their expansive home on the Ogeechee River, this is the single most imposing structure built by Henry and Clara Ford during their sojourn in Richmond Hill from 1926 to 1951. Built by local labor in 1936 near the Ways Station School, the Community House served residents in the enhancement of their educational, social and cultural development. Cooking, home economics, sewing, dancing and other activities were taught at no cost to adults and children alike. Local social activities were held here, many attended by the Fords themselves. — Map (db m54221) HM |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — Confederate Land Mines |
| | Land mines or torpedoes buried along the western approaches to the fort caused most of the casualties to the Union troops in the assault on December 13, 1864. After the taking of the fort, General Sherman personally gave orders that the captured Confederate garrison be required to remove the unexploded mines. — Map (db m13071) HM |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — Courthouse Annex |
| | This wood-frame structure, situated on a site known since the creation of Bryan County in 1793 as “the Crossroads”, was built in 1939 with funding provided by Henry Ford. The building came to be familiarly called “the Courthouse” by local citizens. For many years it was used for civic meetings and as the official Richmond Hill voting site. The local Masonic Lodge and Order of the Eastern Star organizations held their meetings in this facility. Later, city and county governmental offices were housed here. — Map (db m54142) HM |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — Damage From Naval Bombardments |
| | The largest naval guns used against land fortifications were fired on fort McAllister in 1863 from monitor-type Union ironclads. 15 in. shells penetrated 17 feet of sand, digging craters 89 ft. in diameter and 7 ft. deep on exploding, but all damage could be repaired overnight. — Map (db m13037) HM |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — Destruction of the C.S.S. Nashville |
| | The swift Confederate blockade runner Nashville
( renamed Rattlesnake) was destroyed
by the monitor Montauk, February 28, 1863,
after she went aground on a sandbar in a hairpin bend
of the Ogeechee River. The engagement was a three- way
battle with the guns of the fort ( McAllister) firing on the
Montauk and the Montauk concentrating
on the Nashville. The wreck of the Nashville
lies in the direction of the arrow, approximately 1200 yards. — Map (db m11474) HM |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — 015-9 — Fort Argyle |
| | Near here, on the West bank of the Ogeechee River, Fort Argyle was built in 1733, to command one of the main passes by which enemy Indians had recently invaded South Carolina, and to give protection to the settlers of Savannah from anticipated raid by Spaniards from Florida.
The fort was named in honor of John, Duke of Argyle, friend and patron of James Edward Oglethorpe, and was garrisoned by Captain McPherson with a detachment of Rangers. — Map (db m29523) HM |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — 015-6 — Fort McAllister — »— 10 Mi. → |
| | Situated at Genesis Point, 10 miles east on the right bank of the Great Ogeechee River below the "lost town" of Hardwick, this fort was the right of the exterior line designed for the defense of Savannah. It
denied the use of the river to Union vessels, protected King`s Bridge (2.5 miles north) and the Savannah and Gulf (ACL) R.R. bridge 2 miles below, and preserved the river plantations from Union raids. Built 1861-62 to guard the `back door` to Savannah, during 1862-63 it repulsed with . . . — Map (db m8387) HM |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — 015-5 — Fort McAllister — ← 4.5 mi.—« |
| | East 4.5 miles, on Great Ogeechee River, Fort McAllister was built 1861-62 to guard the "back door" to Savannah. During 1862-63, it repulsed 7 attacks by armored vessels, some mounting 15-inch guns. Dec. 13, 1864, its small garrison of 230 Georgians was overwhelmed by Hazen's Division, 15th Corps [US], which had marched via this road. Its fall opened the Ogeechee to Union vessels which, loaded with supplies for Gen. Sherman's army, had been lying in Tybee Roads and Port Royal Sound. A wharf and . . . — Map (db m29452) HM |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — 015-3 — Fort McAllister The Assault From The Rear |
| | Dec. 1864. Fort McAllister, built 1861-62 to close the Great Ogeechee River to enemy ships, mounted 11 siege guns, 12 field pieces and 1 10-inch mortar. Below it, piles and torpedoes obstructed the channel. As the Union forces neared Savannah, the fort`s capture became imperative in order that ships could pass up-river to supply them. Naval attempts having failed, Brig. Gen. Wm. B. Hazen's Division, 15th Corps [USA], was ordered to cross the river, move to the fort, and take it from the rear. . . . — Map (db m16103) HM |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — 015-4 — Fort McAllister The Naval Bombardments |
| | On July 1st and 29th, 1862, the fort was shelled by Union gunboats and on Nov. 19th by the ironclad "Wissahickon" and two escort craft. Hit below the waterline, "Wissahickon" withdrew after firing 17 11-inch and 25 other shells. The escorts withdrew later after firing 49 100-pdr. and 42 other shells. On Jan. 27, 1863, the armored monitor "Montauk," Comdr. J.L. Worden, USN, anchored near the fort, leaving her escort of four gunboats one mile astern. She fired 61 15-inch and 35 11-inch shells, . . . — Map (db m16102) HM |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — George W. McAllister |
| | Buried here is George Washington McAllister (1781-1850), a prominent planter of Bryan County. In 1817, McAllister acquired Strathy Hall Plantation on the Ogeechee River where he cultivated rice and was one of the largest slave owners on Bryan Neck. McAllister built his plantation house, Strathy Hall, in 1838, restored by Henry Ford ca. 1940. McAllister and his neighbors, Thomas Savage Clay and Richard James Arnold, organized the Bryan Neck Presbyterian Church on this site in 1830. His son, . . . — Map (db m59985) HM |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — George Washington Carver School |
| | On these grounds in 1939, Henry Ford built a school to serve the educational needs of the African-American children of lower Bryan County. Professor Herman Cooper was appointed as the Principal when the school opened later that year, originally with grades one through six. Ford named the school in honor of the prominent African-American educator and agriculturist from Tuskegee Institute, Dr. George Washington Carver. In March 1940 Dr. Carver attended the dedication ceremonies here for the new school named in his honor. — Map (db m54321) HM |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — Guale Village at Seven-Mile Bend |
| | Across the Ogeechee River from this point was the northernmost town of the Province of Guale, the village of Satuache. Spanish records place Satuache about 10 miles northeast of Guale’s provincial capital at Mission Santa Catalina (St. Catherines Island). Indian artifacts at the Seven-Mile Bend attest to Guale activity in association with the Spanish mission of San Diego de Satuache. The Guale town and the Spanish mission there were abandoned ca. 1663. The name Ogeechee is Indian in origin and . . . — Map (db m60008) HM |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — Hardwicke |
| | This site on the Great Ogeechee, 14 miles from the Atlantic, was selected in 1755 by Governor John Reynolds for the capital of Georgia. He named it for his kinsman, Lord High Chancellor of England, Phillip Yorke Hardwicke. Reynolds said: "Hardwicke has a charming situation, the winding of the river making it a peninsula and it is the only fit place for the capital." In 1761, Sir James Wright, the Province Governor, determined against the removal of the capital from Savannah. Hardwicke then . . . — Map (db m11225) HM |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — 015-12 — Hazen's Division at the Canoochee River |
| | On Dec. 6, 1864, the 15th Corps (US), Maj. Gen. P. J. Osterhaus, USA the extreme right of Gen. Sherman's army on its destructive March to the Sea, camped near Jenk's Bridge, on Great Ogeechee River east of Blichton. On the 7th, Oliver's brigade of Hazen's division was sent down the west bank of the Ogeechee to seize the bridge over Canoochee River, two miles southeast of Bryan Court House (Eden) (Clyde) and one-half mile northwest of this point. From Black Creek to the Canoochee, the advance . . . — Map (db m15812) HM |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — Henry Ford at Richmond Hill |
| | In 1925, Henry Ford of Detroit, Mich., a leading American automobile pioneer who perfected the assembly line concept of auto manufacturing, began acquiring large tracts of land on both sides of the nearby Ogeechee River. He sponsored extensive agricultural and forestry operations, providing the impoverished area with much-needed employment opportunities. Ford also implemented numerous civic improvements for the people of the Ways Station-Richmond Hill community, including medical, educational . . . — Map (db m54170) HM |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — J. F. Gregory |
| | For nearly 20 years, J. F. (Jack) Gregory was the general manager and superintendent for all of Henry Ford’s various operations in and around Ways Station, later Richmond Hill. Serving for Ford from the 1920s until 1946, Gregory oversaw the activities of the Richmond Hill Plantation, a large agricultural enterprise that employed many local and area residents. Known as a hard-working, no-nonsense, manager, Gregory ran Ford’s operations with great efficiency and organization. — Map (db m59669) HM |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — 015-13 — Kilpatrick on Bryan Neck |
| | On Dec. 12, 1864, the 3rd Cavalry Division [US], Brig. Gen. J. L. Kilpatrick, USA, covering the right rear of Gen. Sherman`s army which was then closing in on Savannah, crossed the Great Ogeechee River near Fort Argyle and the Canoochee River near Bryan Court House (Clyde) on pontoon bridges laid by the 1st Missouri Engineers [US] and moved down Bryan Neck. That night, Kilpatrick made his headquarters at the plantation home of Lt. Col. Joseph L. McAllister, 7th Georgia Cavalry [CS], which stood . . . — Map (db m29458) HM |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — Kindergarten Building |
| | This structure was built in 1940 by Henry Ford to serve as a kindergarten for the children of Ways Station-Richmond Hill during the Ford era. The building included a kitchen and two large classrooms to accommodate children aged three years to six. Dr. Margaret Mustin was hired by Ford to serve as the first director of the kindergarten. The Ford Kindergarten building now serves as home to the Richmond Hill Historical Society and Museum. — Map (db m54435) HM |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — Machinery From The C.S.S. Nashville |
| | These portions of rotating machinery were
removed, in 1960, from the wreck of the
Confederate blockade runner Nashville,
sunk in the Ogeechee River by shell fire from
the U.S.S. Montauk in Feb. 1863.
These relics give some conception of the
power of the Nashville's engine. — Map (db m16105) HM |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — Major Gallie's Gun |
| | In this emplacement, chosen nearest the enemy, was the gun, an 8-inch columbiad, commanded personally by Major John B. Gallie. — Map (db m12995) HM |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — Major John B. Gallie |
| | Killed in action while commanding the fort during the second attack of the monitor MONTAUK, February 1, 1863. The 32-pounder beside which he was standing was struck while Gallie was going from gun to gun, encouraging his men to calmness of aim. — Map (db m13072) HM |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — Martha-Mary Chapel |
| | Henry and Clara Ford had this chapel built in 1937 near the Community House and the Ways Station School. The chapel was named for the mothers of Henry Ford (Mary) and Clara Ford (Martha). Students from the nearby school utilized the Martha-Mary Chapel to conduct devotional services under the supervision of their teachers. The pews, tables and other furnishings for the chapel were constructed in the local plantation carpentry shop. Today, the chapel is owned by St. Anne’s Catholic Church. — Map (db m54319) HM |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — Obstruction of River |
| | To block the channel of the Ogeechee River, a double row of piling was placed across the river at a point opposite this marker. — Map (db m12867) HM |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — Position of the Monitors |
| | The monitors took positions against the far marsh in the direction of the arrow, between 900 and 1200 yards from the fort during the following series of attacks: by the MONTAUK, January 27, February 1, and February 28, 1863; and by the PASSAIC, the NAHANT, and the PATAPSCO, March 3, 1863. — Map (db m12777) HM |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — Rice Cultivation on the Ogeechee |
| | The production of rice on Bryan Neck utilized upstream fresh water and the tidal influences of the Ogeechee River. Heavy wooden trunks, or tidegates, along the levees and embankments in the rice fields allowed the inflow and outflow of fresh water in an elaborate system of irrigation and hydraulics during the summer growing season. A network of canals provided access for the tending of the fields by large forces of slave workers. The peak of this activity was in 1860 when 1.6 million pounds of . . . — Map (db m59995) HM |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — Richard J. Arnold |
| | Richard James Arnold (1796-1873) acquired nearby White Hall Plantation through his marriage in 1823 to Louisa Gindrat. A Rhode Island native, Arnold invested heavily in White Hall for the cultivation of cotton and in his Cherry Hill and Mulberry tracts further up the Ogeechee River on which he became the most prosperous rice planter in the region. By 1860 Arnold was the largest landowner in Bryan County, with over 15,000 acres and 195 slaves. Arnold was an innovative planter, regarded as being . . . — Map (db m59997) HM |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — 015-7 — Sinking of the CSS ''Nashville (Rattlesnake)" |
| | In July, 1862 the CSS "Nashville", Capt. Baker, ran the Union blockade and entered Savannah via Wilmington river with a cargo of arms. Loaded with cotton for Europe, she attempted to escape via Ossabaw Sound. Thwarted by the vigilance of the blockading squadron, she was withdrawn up Great Ogeechee River and refitted as a raider. Renamed "Rattlesnake", her silhouette was lowered and she received heavier guns. In February, 1863, ready for sea, she dropped down-river to Fort McAllister to plan her . . . — Map (db m16104) HM |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — The "Bottom" Village |
| | The “Bottom” residential village, built in the mid-1930s, was the first housing project developed by Henry Ford for his employees in the Ways Station (later Richmond Hill) area. The name originated from the fact that the area had been a swamp or a “bottom” before Ford had it cleared and drained. There was a similar employee residential community on the Clyde Road just west of Ways Station called “Blueberry Village”. In the Bottom there were 75 . . . — Map (db m59965) HM |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — The Clay Family of Bryan Neck |
| | In this cemetery are interred members of the Clay family, among the most prominent of Bryan Neck and coastal Georgia from the colonial era of Georgia through the 19th century. Prominent among these are Thomas Savage Clay (1801-1849) and his wife Matilda McAllister Clay (1818-1869). Clay and his sister, Eliza Caroline Clay (1805-1895) owned Richmond-on-the-Ogeechee, one of the most productive rice plantations on Bryan Neck. Their parents were Joseph Clay (1764-1811), prominent member of the . . . — Map (db m59986) HM |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — Tom Cat — Garrison Mascot |
| | The sole Confederate fatality after seven hours of intensive bombardment on March 3, 1863, by the monitors PASSAIC (Capt. Percival Drayton), NAHANT, and PATAPSCO, supported by the MONTAUK, the WISSAHICKON, the SENECA, the DAWN, the FLAMBEAU, the SERBAGO, the C.P. WILLIAMS, the NORFOLK PACKET, and the PARA was the garrison mascot. The death of the cat was deeply regretted by the men, and news of the fatality was communicated to General Beauregard in the official report of the action. — Map (db m13038) HM |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — Ways Station |
| | In 1856, the Savannah, Albany & Gulf R.R. was built across the nearby Ogeechee River into Bryan County. Near this site a train depot was built, which came to be known as “Ways No. 1 ½” for William J. Way, the first station master and a local rice planter on lands through which the railroad passed. A settlement grew up in the section between the railroad tracks and the Crossroads just to the west. It came to be called Ways Station, a designation that lasted until 1941 when the name of the community was changed to Richmond Hill. — Map (db m54398) HM |
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