05/26/2026
Savannah has always been a city of firsts 🇺🇸✨
As we celebrate U.S. 250, here are six historic “firsts” connected to Savannah:
1️⃣ First Planned City: Savannah was the first city designed in a grid pattern by General James Oglethorpe, originally featuring 24 public squares, trustee lots, and wards. Today, 22 squares remain, helping make Savannah one of the most walkable historic districts in the country.
2️⃣ First Black Baptist Congregation In America: Organized at nearby Brampton Plantation, this congregation eventually established Savannah’s First African Baptist Church - recognized as the first Black Baptist congregation in America.
3️⃣ First Lighthouse On The South Atlantic Coast: The first lighthouse built to aid navigation on the South Atlantic Coast was erected near Savannah’s beach, Tybee Island, now home to Georgia’s oldest and tallest lighthouse.
4️⃣ First Art Museum In The South: Originally built in 1819 as a mansion for Alexander Telfair, the Telfair Museum of Art later became the first public art museum in the South and remains home to American and European works, along with rotating exhibitions.
5️⃣ First Girl Scout Troop In America: On March 12, 1912, Juliette Gordon Low organized the first Girl Scout troop at her home on Lafayette Square. Today, her birthplace serves as both a museum and national program center.
6️⃣ First African American Museum Of Civil Rights: The Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum preserves and shares Savannah’s significant role in the American Civil Rights Movement and honors the leaders who shaped it.
✨ Savannah’s history continues to shape its story today
