PROGRAMS
Living History: Yellow Fever in Savannah
Dates: Friday and Saturday evenings in October
[October 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, 19, 25, 26]
TIME: 7 p.m.
ADMISSION: $16 (in advance); $19 (at the door)
LENGTH OF PROGRAM: 45 minutes
In October the Museum will present a dramatic recreation of early 19th century life when yellow fever ravaged the city. Costumed interpreters portray residents coping with the realities of life during a catastrophe with an exploration of death and funeral customs, medical treatments as well as how various sectors of the population dealt with events. A highlight is moving though the candlelit rooms witnessing enactments. In an area seldom seen by visitors, the fate and experiences of the uncounted half of the city’s population, both free and enslaved African Americans, are revealed.
Space is limited and patrons are encouraged to get their tickets in advance.
*Guests are encouraged to arrive on time to enjoy the full experience of the performance.
The performance requires that guests be able to walk up and down stairs and maneuver in low light. Guests are encouraged to arrive on time to enjoy the full experience.
Because of the subject matter, the program is not suitable for children under eight years of age.
Williams Grimes's Story Come to Savannah
Who: Regina Mason, co-editor, Life of William Grimes the Runaway Slave.
William Grimes was her great-great-great grandfather.
What/When/Where
#1 Lecture
William Grimes: Savannah’s Literate Urban Slave
Monday, November 4, 2019 at 6:30 p.m.
Second African Baptist Church, 123 Houston Street, Savannah, GA
Reception to follow.
Special thank you to host institution – Second African Baptist Church
#2 Film/Savannah Premiere
Gina’s Journey: The Search for William Grimes
Wednesday, November 6 at 6 p.m.
Savannah State University (building TBD)
Host of the Africana Studies Program.
Special thank you to host institution –Africana Studies Program, Savannah State University
Additionally: Mason, along with William L. Andrews of UNC-Chapel Hill, edited her ancestor William Grimes’s slave narrative. Of Grimes, Davenport House Museum Director, Jamie Credle, says, “What makes this authentic to us, here in Savannah, is that twelve pages of Grimes’s story are about his time in Savannah in the early 19th century. He may have resided at one time on Columbia Square and he knew the people the Davenports knew and walked the streets the Davenports traversed. Our partners believe strongly that we need to make Grimes’s name and story familiar to the broader community. This story has authenticity to the slavery story in Savannah.”
Life of William Grimes, the Runaway Slave is the first fugitive slave narrative in American history. Because Grimes wrote and published his narrative on his own, without deference to white editors, publishers, or sponsors, his Life has an immediacy, candor, and no-holds-barred realism unparalleled in the famous antebellum slave narratives of the period. This edition of Grimes’s autobiography represents a historic partnership between noted scholar of the African American slave narrative, William L. Andrews, and Regina Mason, Grimes’s great-great-great-granddaughter. Their extensive historical and genealogical research has produced an authoritative, copiously annotated text that features pages from an original Grimes family Bible, transcriptions of the 1824 correspondence that set the terms for the author’s self-purchase in Connecticut (nine years after his escape from Savannah, Georgia), and many other striking images that invoke the life and times of William Grimes.[Book Description on Amazon.]
Savannah Music Through the Ages Series
Savannah Voice Festival – Davenport House Museum co-production
Topic: The World of the Davenports (1810-1860)
Lecture: September 16, 2019@ 6pm in Kennedy Pharmacy. Free of charge.
(Speaker: Dr. Christopher Hendricks)
Concerts: September 23, 2019@ 6pm and 8pm at the Davenport House Museum.
Admission: Link – 6 p.m. Link – 8 p.m.
Topic: Early Jazz (1900-1940)
Lecture: December 9, 2019@ 6pm in Kennedy Pharmacy
(Speaker: Mr. Robert Gibson)
Concerts: December 16 @ 6pm and 8pm at the Davenport House Museum.
Admission: Link – 6 p.m. Link – 8 p.m.
Topic: Broadway and the American Songbook (1950-1970)
Lecture: February 3, 2020 @ 6pm. Free of change.
(Speaker: TBA)
Concerts: February 10, 2020 @ 6pm and 8pm at the Davenport House Museum.
Admission: Link – 6 p.m. Link – 8 p.m.
Topic: Present Day (1980-Today)
Lecture: May 4, 2020@ 6pm in Savannah Theater. Free of charge.
(Speaker: Mr. Michael Ching)
Concerts: May 11, 2020 @ 6pm and 8pm at the Davenport House Museum
Admission: Link – 6 p.m. Link – 8 p.m.
Holiday Evening Tours by Candlelight
December 26 -30, 2019
TIME: 6 to 8:30 p.m.
Admission: $12 adults in advance, $15 at the door; $6 children in advance, $8 at the door. Plus tax.
Combination Pass for the Daily Tour and the Holiday Evening Tour is $16
Length of Program: The format is open house style. The experience will take approximately 60 minutes. No admissions after 8 p.m.
Glistening by candlelight, the Federal-style home welcomes visitors to an event emphasizing the end-of-year celebrations of early 19th century Savannahians, including the Davenport household, who lived in the fine brick home on Columbia Square. Light refreshments, music and skilled interpreters, who show visitors through the home, are among the highlights of the presentation. A demonstration of period dancing will culminate the evening.
The performance requires that guests be able to walk up and down stairs and maneuver in the candlelit rooms.
Valentine’s Day Weddings in the Davenport House Garden
Friday, February 14, 2020
TIME: 5 to 7 p.m.
Get married in the Museum’s beautiful courtyard garden and make it a Valentine’s Day to remember!
Ceremonies will be offered every 10 minutes.
$100 donation to the museum.
Rain location in the Kennedy Pharmacy, 323 E. Broughton Street—across the lane from the garden.
Call 912-236-8097 for additional information or to reserve a place.
Confirmed reservations are highly recommended.
“Potable Gold”: Savannah’s Madeira Tradition
Friday and Saturday evenings in February –
ADMISSION: TBA
Reservations recommended. Limited attendance.
LENGTH OF PROGRAM: 75 minutes
Experience the historic atmosphere of the Davenport House while learning about and tasting a unique and flavorful wine. Patrons are oriented to the long and rich tradition of Madeira (wine) as it relates to the history of Savannah and then they will participate in a Madeira party. During the experience they will sample two types of Madeira and see the historic house at dusk including spaces usually off-limits to museum guests. The performance requires that guests be able to walk up and down stairs and maneuver in the candlelit rooms.
Tea at Mrs. Davenport’s
Thursday and Fridays in March 2020
PROGRAM DATES and TIMES: TBA
Reservations recommended. Limited attendance.
LENGTH OF PROGRAM: 60 to 75 minutes
Learn about tea traditions and experience an early 19th century tea in the historic atmosphere of the Isaiah Davenport House Museum.
Early Bird’s Preservation Walking Tour of the Landmark Historic District’s East Side
Saturdays in April 2020
PROGRAM DATES: TBA
TIME: 8 a.m.
ADMISSION: TBA
DISTANCE OF WALK: 2.3 miles
LENGTH OF PROGRAM: 100 minutes
Take an early morning walk through one of the oldest and most varied neighborhoods to learn how historic preservation has revitalized downtown Savannah. Tours led by the Davenport House Director will introduce the personalities, structures, and issues that have enthralled Savannah’s preservation movement. Coffee and treats in the Davenport House garden to follow.
Tea in the Garden at the Davenport House
Wednesdays and Thursdays in May 2020
PROGRAM DATES and TIMES: TBA
ADMISSION: TBA
Reservations recommended. Limited attendance.
PLEASE CALL 912-236-8097 TO INQUIRE ABOUT GROUP RATES FOR 10+ PEOPLE
LENGTH OF PROGRAM:75 minutes
Learn about tea traditions and experience an early 19th century tea in Davenport House’s beautiful courtyard garden.
![EarlyB1820sTour2018[62542]](http://www.davenporthousemuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/elementor/thumbs/EarlyB1820sTour201862542-npx90kfsbv3ru2rhqy7hiejc05qlowwlclq56o7jow.jpg "EarlyB1820sTour2018[62542]")
Early Bird's Walking Tour: Discovering 1820s Savannah
Saturdays in May 2020
DATES: TBA
TIME: 8:00 am
Admission: TBA
See what survives of the 1820s Savannah that master builder Isaiah Davenport knew. Beginning at the Davenport House Museum (1820) participants will walk (about 2.5 miles; 120 minutes) by some of the finest examples of preservation in the city and learn about what no longer remains. Coffee and treats in the Davenport House garden will follow.
PLEASE CALL 912-236-8097 TO INQUIRE ABOUT GROUP RATES FOR 10+ PEOPLE
TOURS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST
Our Old House: Director’s Preservation Tour of the Davenport House
Program Available Upon Request.
TIME: 4:30 p.m.
ADMISSION: $18
Reservations must be received two weeks prior to the desired booking and are dependent on the presenter’s schedule.
Minimum group size is 4 and maximum group size is 10 adults.
PROGRAM LENGTH: 75 to 90 minutes
Acquaint yourself with the preservation and care of the Isaiah Davenport House, recipient of the Preserve America Presidential Award. The museum’s director will lead a tour in and around the home discussing the recent restoration, maintenance issues and techniques for preserving the site for the long term. The tour is limited to twelve people. Patrons will visit areas not normally on tour. The experience will end in the garden with light refreshments.
Curator’s Tour and Highlights of the Collection
Program Available Upon Request.
TIME: 4:30 p.m.
ADMISSION FEE: $15
Reservations must be received two weeks prior to the desired booking and are dependent on the presenter’s schedule.
Minimum group size is 4 adults and maximum group size is 10 adults.
LENGTH OF PROGRAM: 90 minutes
The museum’s Assistant Director will lead patrons on a special tour of the house explaining the basis for the house’s interpretation and recent restoration, examining highlights of the collections and viewing collection storage, which is normally off-limits to museum visitors. Following the tour there will be refreshments and a time for conversation in the garden. The program requires that guests be able to walk up and down stairs.
CONTACT US
912/236-8097
912/233-7938 – FAX
324 E. State Street
Savannah, GA 31401
HOURS
Monday – Saturday | 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Sunday | 1 p.m. – 4 p.m.
The last tour begins daily at 4 p.m.
The Davenport House Museum is closed on the following holidays:
Thanksgiving Day | Christmas Eve and Day |
New Year’s Eve and Day | St. Patrick’s Day
Sunday | 1 p.m. – 4 p.m.
The last tour begins daily at 4 p.m.
The Davenport House Museum is closed on the following holidays:
Thanksgiving Day | Christmas Eve and Day |
New Year’s Eve and Day | St. Patrick’s Day
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