By Eric Curl
Sept. 17, 2023 – The effort to save Virginia Jackson Kiah’s community museum “for the masses” took a significant step Thursday, when the Savannah City Council approved an agreement with the Galvan Foundation and the appropriation of up to $500,000 for the acquisition and renovation of the dilapidated structure.
However, the Chatham County Probate Court case that led to the property’s deterioration remains unresolved more than 20 years after being initiated by a guardianship petition in 1999, two years before Kiah’s death at age 90.
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To bring the long-delayed case to a close, Savannah Attorney Nancy DeVetter said she was recently retained by the family, the third lawyer to take on the role, to distribute what is about $250,000 in remaining estate funds to 17 heirs. DeVetter said the case is an “outlier” when it comes to the amount of years it has been in court – made more difficult by the lack of a will – but progress is now being made.
“We’re very, very close,” DeVetter said.
Read past coverage and view a Kiah estate case timeline
The case sat stagnant for about 15 years until advocates and media coverage spurred Chatham County Probate Court Judge Tom Bordeaux, who had been elected the year before, to re-activate the case in December 2017. Bordeaux then appointed Savannah Attorney Keith Berry, Jr. as temporary administrator of the estate the next year. Berry’s work obtaining the estate funds from the guardian at the time and subsequent approvals from heirs led to Bordeaux’s order in April 2022 approving the sale of the property to the Historic Savannah Foundation.
Family members are now administering the estate and Kiah’s nephew, Michael Bowen Mitchell, said Friday the probate case is almost “wound up.” Meanwhile, Mitchell welcomed the news of the city’s plans to purchase and rehabilitate the house in recognition of his late aunt’s contribution to Savannah’s history, which he said is what her family members desired.
“You’ve got to continue the fight when you know you’re right to do something,” he said.
As part of last week’s approved plan, the city’s Cultural Resources Department and Municipal Archives Department will collaborate to provide inspired programs and exhibits at the restored museum. The total project cost is estimated at $1.2 million, with the city contributing $500,000 towards that cost and securing an interest in the property.
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