The Davenport House is a Federal style home that was built in 1820 by master builder Isaiah Davenport. Davenport was known for his skill and talent in the building industry, and the house served as a showcase for his work as well as a family home. He lived in the house with his wife and family until he died of yellow fever in 1827. When they were threatened with demolition in the mid-1950s, seven Savannah women came together to save the Davenport House and founded the Savannah Historical Foundation.
After completing his carpentry apprenticeship in New Bedford, Massachusetts, Davenport moved to Savannah in 1809. He built several elegant homes in the Federal and Georgian styles. While most homes of the time were built of wood, Davenport used brick to emphasize his growing wealth and social status. After his death in 1827 from yellow fever, his wife converted the house into a boarding house. She would live in the residence until the Baynard family of Hilton Head purchased it 13 years later. Over the next decades, the house fell on hard times and became an abandoned rooming house. Even while in deep disrepair, the house was still recognized for its architectural significance by New Deal surveyors as part of the 1930s Survey of Historic Buildings in America.
When the mansion was threatened with demolition in the mid-1950s, a group of citizens concerned about preserving the city’s architectural heritage formed the Historic Savannah Foundation. Their first official act was to purchase the Davenport House, which served as their headquarters for several years. Starting with the ground floor in 1955, the foundation began the painstaking restoration work necessary to return the house to its former glory and create a museum. The process was completed seven years later. The Davenport House Museum has received many prestigious awards.
Exhibitions worth seeing
The three-story interior has stunning details, such as intricate plasterwork and a staircase that seems to float in the air. The various rooms are furnished with period furniture and decorated with wallpaper and lighting to reflect how the house would have looked when it served as Davenport’s home. The interpretation is based on research that included an inventory taken at the time of Davenport’s death and the sale of his estate. The Preservation Society also used biographical records. The museum’s 500-item collection includes ceramics, textiles, and historic children’s toys. The centerpiece of the collection is a drawing of the house’s exterior façade by local artist Christopher Murphy. It was originally part of a set of drawings that the artist completed in the 1920s called Five Beautiful Doors in Savannah. The back of the house,