Davenport House Museum

The stately home, built by master carpenter Isaiah Davenport for his household, provides a glimpse into 1820s domestic life in the urban port city of Savannah.

The stately Federal-style home, built by master carpenter Isaiah Davenport for his household, provides a glimpse into 1820s domestic life in the urban port city of Savannah. In 1955 the saving of the Davenport House from demolition was the first effort of Historic Savannah Foundation, which has gone on to national prominence as a preservation leader as well as ushering in the preservation renaissance of the coastal city.

Street Address: 324 East State Street
Location: Corner of Habersham and State Streets on Columbia Square
Admission: Adults (18 and up) - $8, Children (6 to 18) - $5, Children (0 to 6) free,
Historic Savannah Foundation members – free, Davenport House supporters – free
Discounts: AAA, senior citizens, active military, National Trust for Historic Preservation members, groups of 10 or more with advanced reservations, Girl Scout groups
Experience: Approximately 30-minute docent-led tour through two floors of authentic period room exhibits
Site Highlights:
Architectural features: Exterior including fine cast iron work; Interior including exceptional ornamental plaster work, marble fireplaces, and cantilever staircase;
o Note: The Davenport House has been described as one of the finest examples of Federal architecture in America (p. 46, J. Berendt, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil).
o The Davenport House is on the National Register of Historic Places
o The Davenport House was surveyed in the 1930s by architects with the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) and those drawing are housed in the Library of Congress and can be accessed on the internet.
Recent restoration and quality preservation
Authentic period interiors including documented wallpaper, window treatments and flooring
Trained docent-led tours
Court-yard garden with refinements made by renowned English landscape designer Penelope Hobhouse
2005 recipient of Preserve America Presidential Award for Private Preservation
2010 recipient Governor’s Award in the Humanities
Closed: New Year’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, July 4th, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day; closes at 1 p.m. on the day before Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve
Opened: 1963
Site features: Davenport House Museum Shop, rest rooms, water fountain
Rentals: Courtyard garden for parties and receptions – before and after operating hours with advance notification. The museum also rents out the Kennedy Pharmacy, a 900 sq. foot room, across the lane from the museum house.
Programs: Living history programming – A Mortality Prevails: Savannah’s Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1820 (October 2011), Yellow Fever! Savannah Epidemic of 1820 (October 2009,2010), Dreadful Pestilence: Encountering Yellow Fever (Octobers 2003-2006 – revised annually), “. . .our once cheerful island . . .”: The World of Savannah in 1824” (October 2007), “Greater than any thing ever witnessed in Savannah”: Welcoming General Lafayette, the Nation’s Guest (October 2008), Holiday Evening Tours (between Christmas and New Year’s), Portable Gold: Savannah’s Madeira Tradition (February), Tea at Mrs. Davenport’s (March), This Old House: Director’s Preservation Tour (March), Early Bird’s Preservation Walking Tour of the Landmark Historic District’s East Side (April), Tea in the Garden (May), Curator’s Tour and Highlights of the Collection (May), Discovering 1820s Savannah: Early Bird’s Walking tour of the City Isaiah Knew (May), Junior Interpreters, Docent Training, Volunteer/Continuing Education