One Building - Many Stories

One Building - Many Stories. Wooden Barrels, Storage Wars, Catastrophes, and Twinkling Stars. An urban legend suggested that this structure served to hold enslaved African Americans temporarily while being transported on ships through Savannah's port during the mid-1800s. Researchers have found no evidence supporting this theory. Historical documents and archaeology reveal a complex and varied history of this building. The name of the building changed through time, known variously as "stores" and "vaults." One newspaper article referred to the "Improvements East of the Exchange, or more familiarly known as the tombs," due to the arches and dimensions of the structure. . . Storage Wars . Ironically, the builder and first lease holder of this structure, Charles Cluskey, probably never used it. In 1842, less than two years after receiving the 20-year lease, Cluskey was ordered by the court to auction the lease to pay debts owed to John Dillon. John came into ownership of the lease at that time. . . Twinkling Stars . One intriguing use of the vaults involved the survey and mapping of the Savannah harbor and southeastern coast in 1851. The U.S. Coast Survey used state-of-the art technology long before Global Positioning triangulation and the paths of stars to determine locations of landforms to each other and the planet. Such techniques created this 1855 Georgia marsh map [Right]. . . January 7, 1851. Mr. Boutelle has contracted, "...to erect a small temporary observatory over the Tombs east of the Exchange, for the purpose of making observations for latitude and longitude. In connection with these calculations, Mr. B. will make use of the telegraph." . Digital Library of Georgia, Savannah Daily Republican, 1/7/1851 . . Why did mapping require the storeroom vaults? The vaults stood next to the City Exchange Building, which had a tall spire on its clock tower. Engineers could use the spire to send and receive telegraph signals to telescope locations and the vaults provided office and equipment space. Here is an 1820 "Plan for an Observatory" for Coast Survey [Right]. . . Catastrophes . In 1904, three African Americans were seriously injured in the western-most vault as they constructed the new City Hall building. The vault collapsed during excavations for the foundations of the neighboring structure. Workmen survived, despite being crushed under massive amounts of brick and timber. City Hall's contractor rebuilt the collapsed vault. . . Wooden Barrels . The vaults served functions other than storage. In 1845, Vault Number 4 (referred to in the newspaper advertisement as "TOMB No. 4") provided P.D. Nellis with a venue for his coopering, or barrel-making, business. This location placed Nellis in the heart of the port's shipping activities. Grocers, merchants, factors, and tradesmen needed barrels to store and ship an assortment of goods. . This historical marker is in Savannah in Chatham County Georgia