The Moravian Impact on Savannah's Early Days
- 2 days ago
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Not many people realize that Moravians from places like Germany and Bohemia were some of the earliest settlers of one of Georgia's coastal jewels, the city of Savannah. Their settlement lasted less than a decade in the mid-1700's, but they played a role in securing the grid layout of the city while navigating a challenging climate compared to their homelands.
The map seen above was re-printed in Adelaide Frye's 1905 book, The Moravians in Georgia, 1735-1740. The original source was not listed, but it is clear someone went to great lengths to reproduce the details of Savannah's early grid system and the surrounding waterways.
Numerous people in Europe and England were responsible for sending Moravians to Georgia in order to spread the gospel while utilizing their skills to create thriving industries for the benefit of England. Count Zinzendorf of Germany was a key player with that rare combination of diplomatic skills along with sincere and good-hearted intentions. He knew the Moravians were typically devout and industrious individuals who would be an asset for the cause of Christianity abroad while simultaneously contributing to the economy.
Eventually, two waves of Moravian settlers arrived in Savannah despite arduous ship journeys. Wisely, the first wave included a gardener, masons, carpenters, and a gamekeeper who managed the land assigned to them. The plan was to create square lots for living in town with small gardens, while creating larger gardens and farms further away. They were expected to learn English in order to live harmoniously with other settlers in the community. Initially, they built huts with a small fenced-in kitchen-garden. Larger 5-acre lots were situated further from town. Other residents watched them in awe, remarking, "...the Moravians had done more work in a week than their people in two years."
As time progressed, plans were made to provide hemp and flax seed from the homeland, because several Moravians were already skilled linen weavers, and cloth was much needed in Georgia during those formative years. It was also hoped that grapevines would be planted. Eventually, they created gardens two "English" miles away. Although the concept of a larger farm was abandoned, they found the smaller gardens to be more successful, which included corn, rice, and trees of mulberries, peaches, and apples.
For reasons beyond the scope of this article, most of these Moravians decided that Pennsylvania would be more suitable for their purposes. Sure enough, they found great success thanks to the more tolerable religious freedoms, and the climate was more in-tune with that of their homelands. However, they were bound to be missed by some of Savannah's residents, because they often provided food and medical care to those outside of their religious community. Also, they were on good terms with the Native Americans in the area. Their land stewardship and economic contributions helped to preserve the original plans for Savannah to become a thriving seaport along the Atlantic coast.
