Hudson Hill/Bayview in Savannah in Chatham County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)
First Schools in West Savannah
Photographed by Tim Fillmon, July 18, 2020
1. First Schools in West Savannah Marker
Inscription.
First Schools in West Savannah. . The first schools in the West Savannah neighborhood were established on Fell Street south of this spot in the early twentieth century. The Saint Anthony of Padua school was one of three schools established by Father Ignatius F. Lissner and a group of Alsatian priests of the Society of African Missions for the care and education of African American children in Savannah. The church and school, located between Hudson Street and Richards Street, opened in 1909. The second school building on the site was constructed in 1949. The school remained an important community institution until 1969, when it was closed and the students were transferred to the Cathedral School. The Fell Avenue School was reserved for white elementary school children in the west Savannah neighborhoods, while African American children attended elementary school in the adjacent Woodville community. A second, small block building with four classrooms was constructed on the site in 1926 and that building remained in the public school system until it was sold in 1963. , Information from Low Land and the High Road: Life and Community in the Hudson Hill, West Savannah, and Woodville Neighborhoods by Martha L. Keber
The first schools in the West Savannah neighborhood were established on Fell Street south of this spot in the early twentieth century. The Saint Anthony of Padua school was one of three schools established by Father Ignatius F. Lissner and a group of Alsatian priests of the Society of African Missions for the care and education of African American children in Savannah. The church and school, located between Hudson Street and Richards Street, opened in 1909. The second school building on the site was constructed in 1949. The school remained an important community institution until 1969, when it was closed and the students were transferred to the Cathedral School. The Fell Avenue School was reserved for white elementary school children in the west Savannah neighborhoods, while African American children attended elementary school in the adjacent Woodville community. A second, small block building with four classrooms was constructed on the site in 1926 and that building remained in the public school system until it was sold in 1963.
Information from Low Land and the High Road: Life and Community in the Hudson Hill, West Savannah, and Woodville Neighborhoods by Martha L. Keber
Erected by Marker erected through the cooperation of the Federal Highway Administration, the Georgia Department
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of Transportation, the Historic Preservation Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Chatham County and the City of Savannah.
Location. 32° 5.308′ N, 81° 7.196′ W. Marker is in Savannah, Georgia, in Chatham County. It is in Hudson Hill/Bayview. It is on West Bay Street (Georgia Route Conn 25) just east of Fell Street, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Savannah GA 31415, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Coastal Plain and on the Georgia Coast and the Golden Isles. It is also in the American South and specifically in the Deep South. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Additional commentary. 1. St. Anthony's Parochial School Savannah, GA My father Charles Henry Sturkey
Photographed by Tim Fillmon, July 18, 2020
2. First Schools in West Savannah Marker looking west
attended St. Anthony's Parochial School in 1946. He was 6 years old. I am hoping to find information, pictures, anything regarding the school. Even understanding the racial climate in Savannah at that time would help me gain a better sense of what he experienced.
— Submitted July 1, 2024, by Katherine Calhoun of Brentwood, California.
Credits. This page was last revised on July 5, 2024. It was originally submitted on October 3, 2020, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. This page has been viewed 1,116 times since then and 43 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on October 3, 2020, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida.
