Submitted by the Historic Savannah Foundation
Nov. 7, 2023 – The Davenport House Museum is reopening the basement level of the 1820s home with a new exhibition dedicated to sharing the stories of the thirteen enslaved workers who resided there alongside the Davenport family.
A project eight years in the making, the Urban Enslaved Exhibit will depict the basement’s dual function as a workspace and living area for these individuals during that time. Interpretive panels will provide information about their lives based on available documentary evidence, as well as insights into the Gullah Geechee culture they likely practiced. These stories are essential to telling a more complete history of the house which cannot be achieved without recognizing the foundational role played by these individuals in contributing to the prosperity of both the Davenports and the city of Savannah.
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The Historic Savannah Foundation is now able to tell the complete story of the Davenport House. The completion of the Urban Enslaved Exhibit marks the third and final phase of HSF’s Kennedy Pharmacy Campaign. The first phase involved the preservation and restoration of the Kennedy Pharmacy directly behind the Davenport House at 323 Broughton St., which now houses the Davenport House Museum Shop on the ground floor and the museum administration offices upstairs. The capital campaign also included the completion of the Murray C. Perlman and Wayne C. Spear Preservation Center. Both buildings officially opened in April 2022.
The public is invited to join Historic Savannah Foundation for a celebratory ribbon cutting to commemorate the completion of the exhibit. The ribbon cutting will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday at the Davenport House Museum, 324 E. State St.
The exhibit designer Doug Mund will speak at the ribbon cutting. Mund has worked with HSF for eight years, bringing to life its exhibits, as well as the facility planner and designer of The Davenport House shop and the timeline housed in the Preservation Center. dmdg2 is a local design agency that specializes in museum planning, exhibit planning and exhibit design. A few notable projects include The Louvre in Paris, France, and The Smithsonian.
Josh Brooks with Brooks Construction Group, LLC, Brian Felder with Felder & Associates, Cody Tharpe with Tharpe Engineering Group and Gregori Anderson, Chair of HSF’s building committee, have all been instrumental in the completion of the project.
The Urban Enslaved Exhibit will open to the public at 10 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 13.
ABOUT HISTORIC SAVANNAH FOUNDATION
Historic Savannah Foundation, a leading nonprofit preservation and cultural institution, saves buildings, places, and stories that define Savannah’s past, present, and future. Following its formation in 1955, the organization started a Revolving Fund to save endangered historic properties, now totaling over 420 buildings throughout several of Savannah’s historic districts. HSF continues to build capacity within its operations, secure new financial resources improve its image and visibility, and increase public policy efforts to protect Savannah’s historic districts. For more information about the work of the Historic Savannah Foundation, visit www.myhsf.org.
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