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B+History
History · Savannah

Savannah dates to 1820, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 65% of U.S. towns · #54 of 177 in Tennessee. What drives it

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 37 buildings. Most of Savannah was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1986 on, and the census since 1850.

1820founded
2on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
9old photos & papers
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Savannah’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Savannah began

When was Savannah founded?

1820

Savannah dates its founding to 1820 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1850.

First census: 466 in 18502020 census: 7,213206 years

How historic is Savannah?

B+

More historic than 65% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1828.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Savannah’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Savannah is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #54 of 177 in Tennessee. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Savannah’s overall grade.
Founding era1820, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19401.9% of homes (±1.3) · typical TN town 4.9% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register2 listings, 38 historic buildings, 51.3 per 10,000 residents · typical TN town 6.1 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 65%
NewerOlder
Tennessee towns of 2,500+ (177)Ahead of 70%

Tennessee towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Tennessee town has 6.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Savannah’s 51.3 sits above most of its state (84% of Tennessee towns have fewer) while its 38 historic buildings outnumber those of 83% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A. The pre-1940 share (±1.3 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1820.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Savannah’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1890 and 1920, then grew 9-fold.A historic districtThe Savannah Historic District takes in 37 historic buildings.Lost villages5 hamlets and corners are still on the map.Deep rootsEstablished in 1820: 206 years of Savannah.
★ What stands out · People over time

Savannah, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00018501900195020001,087 in 1890Low: 758

Lost a third of its people between 1890 and 1920, then grew 9-fold.

15 censuses, 1850–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Savannah’s Wikipedia page.

On the National Register

2 listings protect 38 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
38
each building in a district counts
first listed
1977
Cherry Mansion
Cherry MansionSavannah Historic District
BuildingsDistricts
Cherry MansionBuilding
All 2 listings
Savannah Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1980

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Savannah’s post office has been open since 1828.

Hamlets and corners on the map
AustinBelle MeadeNew TownPhillipsWoodland Heights
Gone or out of use
Dunbar High Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Savannah
Savannah

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Savannah came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Savannah.

Read it all →

The city's original name was "Rudd's Ferry", named for James Rudd, an early settler who established a ferry at the site in the early 1820s. Rudd's Ferry was later purchased by a wealthy landowner, David Robinson. The city was renamed "Savannah" after Savannah, Georgia, the hometown of Rudd's wife, Elizabeth.

Hardin County was the site of the 1862 Battle of Shiloh (also known as the "Battle of Pittsburg Landing") during the Civil War. The battleground site is 10 miles (16 km) southwest of the city of Savannah. Union General Ulysses S. Grant commandeered the Cherry Mansion just off the city square for use as a headquarters during the battle.

ChaptersBattle of ShilohPickwick Landing State Park

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Savannah, 1820 to 2020

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1820
    FoundingSavannah is established
  3. 1828Post officeThe Savannah post office opens
  4. 1862In the archiveThe New York Herald Newest Info
  5. 1874Born hereElizabeth Patterson is born here
  6. 1894Born hereHank DeBerry is born here
  7. 20th century
  8. 1903Born hereJohn Barnhill is born here
  9. 1929Born hereGranville Hinton is born here
  10. 1936In the archiveBirmingham School
  11. 1951In the archiveShell Boat
  12. 1986On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  13. 21st century
  14. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 7,213
By decade

Savannah, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1950s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s1 item
The New York Herald Newest Info1862The New York Herald Newest Info
1930s6 items
Birmingham School1936Birmingham SchoolBirmingham School1936Birmingham SchoolCedar Creek Near Pleasant Site Dam1936Cedar Creek Near Pleasant Site DamHurricane Creek, Mill and Dam1936Hurricane Creek, Mill and DamKelley's Mill1936Kelley's MillMoser Bridge on Yellow Creek1937Moser Bridge on Yellow Creek
1950s1 item
Shell Boat1951Shell Boat
1960s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Date unknown1 to date
Cherry Mansion, 101 Main StreetDate?Cherry Mansion, 101 Main Street
Today8 recent
The Hardin County Courthouse2021The Hardin County CourthouseTCAT-Crump-IMG 20962016TCAT-Crump-IMG 2096Downtown2016DowntownComfort Inn P91110832010Comfort Inn P9111083Comfort Inn P91110822010Comfort Inn P9111082Cobra Helicopter P9111079 012010Cobra Helicopter P9111079 01Savannah Historic District, Irregular pattern along Main, Deford, Guinn, Church, College, Williams and Cook Sts 122008Savannah Historic District, Irregular pattern along M…Savannah tennessee square2007Savannah tennessee square
On the map

Savannah on the map in 1986

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Savannah.

Savannah on the 1986 USGS map1986Selmer sheet · 1:100,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Savannah.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

The New York Herald Newest Info
Retake this viewThe New York Herald Newest Info, 1862

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Savannah’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

5 famous people were born in Savannah

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Elizabeth PattersonAmerican actress · b. 1874
Hank DeBerryAmerican baseball player · b. 1894
John BarnhillAmerican college football coach, college athlet… · b. 1903
G
Granville HintonAmerican politician · b. 1929
Tom HamptonAmerican singer · b. 1965
Help out

Finish Savannah’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewThe New York Herald Newest Info: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

OlivetIts storyD

Questions about Savannah’s history

What year was Savannah founded?

In 1820, according to Wikidata. Savannah’s post office opened in 1828, and the census of 1850 counted 466 people here.

How does Savannah rank for history?

Savannah is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #54 of 177 in Tennessee. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Savannah?

Two places: the Cherry Mansion (listed 1977) and the Savannah Historic District (1980).

How old are the homes in Savannah?

2% of Savannah’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.3 points), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 1976.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (15), the Library of Congress (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.