Savannah's Cobblestones

Savannah's Cobblestones. . , The earliest streets were little more than sandy avenues and virtually all residential, commercial, and public structures were wood. As sailing vessels arrived to discharge and take on cargos, the cobblestones they carried as ballast were often deposited along the Savannah River shoreline. For the city, cobble ballast became an inexpensive, durable, and fireproof building material. Cobble ballast also provided excellent material for paving Savannah's sandy streets. Today, cobblestones used for paving and construction contribute to the charm of the city's waterfront., Ship Ballast for Paving and Construction in Savannah , A brief examination of the cobblestone that pave Savannah's waterfront streets reveals their diverse nature. This diversity reflects the broad spectrum of ports of call for ships entering Savannah beginning with Oglethorpe's arrival in 1733 to the last days of sail early in the 20th century. That pattern connected Savannah with convenient sources of river cobble and quarried stone in the American northeast, the Maritime Provinces of Canada, the British Isles, France, Spain, Portugal and Madeira., Ballast Streets, Buildings and Retaining Walls , Not only were some of the structures along Factors Walk constructed with ballast, the retaining walls along the bluff above River Street also employed ballast., Paving Savannah's Cobble Streets , Because ballast streets were rough surfaces for carriages and later for automobiles, they were frequently paved with brick, macadam or concrete. The photo on the left shows one of Savannah's streets being repaved in the 1930s., Cross Section of Merchant Vessel , Basalt, Sandstone, Chert, Granite, Limestone, Quartz