324 E State St
Savannah, GA 31401, USA

Isaiah Davenport House - National Register of Historic Places

Statement of Significance:

The Architect
Isaiah Davenport, architect, faster Builder and City Alderman was born in a Little Compton, Rhode Island in 1784. The son of Jonathan and Sarah Thurston Devenport, his two most distinguished ancestors were both named John Davenport. The first John, Isaiah’s great grandfather, came from England with two oxford degrees and settled in Boston in where he was the controversial minister of the First Church of Boston and was the instrumental in founding New Haven, Connecticut, and later the famous Old South Church in Boston. The second John Devenport founded the Devenport- Longport pottery in Staffordire where he made the coronation service for King William IV of England.

Isaiah the architect having lost his father at the age of 2 learned early in life to earn his own living. After serving his apprenticeship in New Bedford, Mass, he decided to move the savannah at the turn of the century; make a name for himself in the building trade, this he seems to have done rather quickly for on March 15, 1809 having achieved a certain degree of wealth and prominence he married Sarah Rosamond Clarke of South Carolina. In 1812 he bought Lot 13 on the corner of State and Habersham Streets to build a home for his rapidly growing family. The lot faces Columbia square which was laid out in 1799. In 1757 when Savannah was a walled city the Bethesda gate, one of six entrances to the city was located near the square. A bronze marker about forty feet from the lot tells the story and adds distinction to the site that Davenport chose for his home. Several years passed during which he postponed his personal plans while he built the Martello Tower (Demolished) on Tybee Island, The Gilmer House (Demo), The Davenport Tenement” and several other structures. It was not until some time later that the house was completed. But Isaiah Davenport was destined to live but a short time in the house of his dreams. He died at the height of his success in 1827 leaving his wife to raise six sons and one daughter alone. In later years four of the sons fought in the War between the States. Amazingly two joined the Union Army and two fought for the confederacy. The only daughter, Cornelia, was married February 1, 1844 to Henry Rootes Jackson, a Judge, a military general and an ambassador to Australia. Cornelia died in 1853 leaving three young children. Her husband died in 1898, a Savannahian of great renown.

In 1840, after Mr. Devenport death, his widow, finding herself in reduced circumstances sold the house to William Baynard of Hilton Head, South Carolina who rented it for a time to Samuel Adams family, but seldom if ever used it himself. For the next 109 years it remained in the negligent hands of non-resident Baynard descendants where it deteriorated sadly over the years. By 1954 the house was one of the city's most dilapidated slums in an equally dilapidated neighborhood. Its chimneys were crumbling, its windows were patched with cardboard and it was occupied by ten impoverished families. Yet the amnestic dignity of the house seemed unimpaired by the indignity of its condition. It had managed to endear itself to so many Savannahians that the discovery of plans for its demolition stirred a city-wide wave of violent protest.

It was then that the Historic Savannah Foundation was hastily organized for the sole purpose of restoring this once proud old house. Once this was accomplished the transformation was so dramatic that properties throughout the neighborhood began to change hands. Two architectural firms bought and restored nearby slum houses for their offices. The spark had begun to ignite.

Meanwhile the Davenport House, resplendent since its restoration, had been rented to a Welfare Organization which complained that their work was hampered by too many visitors wishing to be shown through the house. Shortly they moved to less impressive quarters. This gave Lee Adler, II, then president of the Foundation, the opportunity he had yearned for. Within six months the Davenport House had been redecorated and furnished with the handsomest antiques available and in August 1963 it was opened to the public as a house museum. The Historic Savannah Foimdation then moved its offices into the basement.

The site of this house and lot is within the Savannah Historic District, a registered National Historic Landmark, so designated by the Department of the Interior through the National Park Service.

Historic Savannah Foundation has placed legal protective covenants on the Davenport House regarding