By Eric Curl
May 5, 2022 update – Both the Bryan Cemetery and Isle of Hope Historic District were presented as informational items to the commission. The proposals are expected to be considered for approval at the commission’s July 6 meeting.
April 30, 2022 – The newly formed Chatham County Historic Preservation Commission will be considering a nonprofit’s petition to designate the Bryan Cemetery as a contributing historic site in unincorporated Chatham, according to the staff report. The Friends of Bryan Cemetery’s objective is to restore a damaged mausoleum and protect the buried remains of Joseph and Delia Bryan, which actually went missing at one point. (Check out page 21 regarding the vault break-in and the bone theft). The property on Talahi Island is part of Joseph Bryan’s 600-acre cotton plantation that was named Nonchalance (I’m guessing the slaves that worked on it would have something to say regarding the nomenclature).
In addition the commission will be considering a Isle of Hope Historic District proposal during what will be the commission’s second meeting. The greater Isle of Hope was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. The proposed district is smaller and is centered on a horse-shoe shaped bend in the Skidaway River, about eight miles from Savannah. The 17-acre district includes 17 parcels, nine of which feature contributing buildings that date from the early nineteenth to early twentieth century. The district is significant architecturally, culturally and in regards to transportation, having served as the terminus of the Savannah, Skidaway & Seaboard Railroad, according to the proposal. Upon the district’s creation, design standards will be developed and alterations, demolition, new construction and building relocations would need to be approved by the commission or staff.
The agenda for the commission’s second meeting on May 4 is now available to view. This is a hybrid in-person/remote meeting due to the pandemic and the public may attend the meeting in person or virtually by registering via the meeting’s registration page.