Savannah Day 4--Interesting History

We began our morning by driving several miles south of Savannah to a place that seemed like it was in the middle of nowhere. It was the Pin Point Heritage Museum. Pin Point is an African American Gulla-Geechee community located in the marshes of Georgia's tidewater zone.

Our guide told us about the Oyster seafood processing factory that operated there from 1926 to 1985 and the lives of the Gulla-Geechee people who lived and worked there. It was one of the first places that slaves freed by the Civil War owned land.

 

The factory was the lifeblood of the community until pollution, government regulations on the processing of seafood, and other economic changes forced it to close. The few people that are left now work elsewhere.

The blue bottles in the tree near the crab house above are believed to keep evil spirits away by distracting them so that they don't enter the home. 

The photo of the marsh (above right)  is actually the "Moon River" from the famous song by Andy Williams--when the tide is out! Pin Point is also the birthplace of  Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. This was a very interesting stop where we learned a lot.

Then we boarded the Georgia Queen for a luncheon cruise on the Savannah River. Our narrator told us much about how the economy of Savannah developed and still depends on the shipping industry.




 
Though it is hard to believe since it is not on the ocean, Savannah is the 4th largest port in the US. There were huge boats coming in from other countries! We were told that this particular one (and all others like it) would spend several days in port going through customs, taking inventory of its cargo, etc.

After the cruise we had some time to explore and SHOP at many of the stores on the Savannah River Walk before we headed back to the hotel.

Our bus driver did a great job navigating around the narrow streets and congestion near the river and elsewhere in the city! It is an area that was not built for large transport vehicles for sure!