Jones Street (Savannah, Georgia)

Summary

Jones Street is a historic street in Savannah, Georgia, United States. It is named for major John Jones, aide-de-camp to brigadier general Lachlan McIntosh at the 1779 siege of Savannah during the American Revolutionary War.[1]

Jones Street
Jones Street, 2010
Map
Location within Savannah
NamesakeMajor John Jones
Length1.04 mi (1.67 km)
LocationSavannah, Georgia, U.S.
Coordinates32°4′21.02″N 81°5′40″W / 32.0725056°N 81.09444°W / 32.0725056; -81.09444
West endWest Boundary Street
East endEast Broad Street

The street stretches just over 1 mile (1.6 km), from West Boundary Street in the west to East Broad Street in the east. It lies near the center of the Savannah Historic District.[2] The street name changes at Bull Street, a north–south thoroughfare, becoming East Jones Street and West Jones Street, respectively. They separate Madison Square and Monterey Square, two of Bull Street's southernmost squares.

Jones Street has been described as one of the most charming streets in America.[1][3] Several of its homes were built by John Scudder, who — with his brother, Ephraim — also built Scudder's Row on Monterey Square.[4]

The street is interrupted between Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Montgomery Street by an off-ramp from Interstate 16, allowing direct access to Savannah's Historic District at Montgomery Street.[5][6]

In a 2016 study, Jones Street was one of several Savannah streets considered to be a "complete street" connection that "provide[d] safe, comfortable and convenient movement for pedestrians, bikes, vehicles, and alternative modes of transportation."[7]

Jones Street passes through six wards (from west to east): Currie Town, Pulaski, Jasper, Lafayette, Troup and Bartow.

Notable buildings edit

Below is a selection of notable buildings on Jones Street, many constructed for Eliza Ann Jewett (1779–1856).[1] The majority of the buildings were erected in the 1850s, although another construction spike occurred in the 1880s. From west to east:[8]

West Jones Street edit

Name Image Address Year Note
Crystal Beer Parlor   301 West Jones Street 1900 (circa) An unrestored bar, The Crystal, dating to the early 1930s, owned by William and Connie Manning, now Crystal Beer Parlor.[2] Prior to that, in the early 1900s it was the Gerken Family Grocery Store, operated by Julius Weitz and his siblings and parents[9]
William Humphries Sr.  
William Humphries House, 218
218–222 West Jones Street 1852 Built for William Humphries Sr.[10] John Cusack's character, John Kelso, rents number 218 at the end of the 1997 movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. (The property was valued at $1.15 million in 2016.)[11] He also attends a party at 115 East Jones Street, five blocks to the east, in the movie
Sarah Krenson Duplex   214–216 West Jones Street 1873 Built by Grimball and Chaplin
Elizabeth, Isaac & Jacob Cohen House   212 West Jones Street 1852 Built for Elizabeth, Isaac and Jacob Cohen. Since they were all minors at the time, it was likely a trust investment. By 1861 the property was owned by William Brantley, city alderman from 1860 to 1861. Charles W. Brunner later owned the property.[10] Mansard roof added in 1872
Bernard Constantine Duplex   211–215 West Jones Street 1851 Built for successful butcher Bernard Constantine[10]
Solomon Cohen (estate of) Property   208–210 West Jones Street 1886
Jesse Mount Row House   207–209 West Jones Street 1856 Built for Jesse Mount for $18,000, the property was divided in 1861 and sold to J. W. Lathrop and Abraham Backer for $8,000 each[10]
Isaac Brunner Property (2)   205 West Jones Street 1851
Isaac Brunner Property (1)   203 West Jones Street 1852
Anthony Basler Row House   128–132 West Jones Street 1851
Jesse Mount House (sometimes known as the Champion-McAlpin House)[10]   122–124 West Jones Street 1852 Built for Jesse Mount, a wing was added in 1857. It was owned by a Mrs. Maria McAlpin from 1859 to 1888. Maria's father, Aaron Champion, lived at the Harper Fowlkes House, at 230 Barnard Street, from 1843.[12] Improvements totaling $9,000 were made in 1861[10]
Solomon Zeigler House   121 West Jones Street 1856 Built for Solomon Zeigler[10]
C. D. Rogers House   120 West Jones Street 1871
John Murchison Property   114–116 West Jones Street 1851 Built for John Murchison[10]
Louisa Nevitt Row House   113–117 West Jones Street 1851[8] Built for Louise Nevitt (d. 1890, aged 93).[13] After her husband John's death the year after the construction, his widow moved to 125 East Jones as "a lady of leisure"[10]
Caroline Overstreet House   111 West Jones Street 1855
Mary Johnson House   109 West Jones Street 1900
Algernon Hartridge Duplex; Mrs. Wilkes' Dining Room since 1943   105–107 West Jones Street 1869[2] A former boarding house, known as the Wilkes House
William Remshart Row House  
102–104 
106

 
108[14]  
110–112

102–112 West Jones Street 1853[8][2]
James Kerr House   20 West Jones Street 1849[8] Built for James Ker (possibly Kerr), the third storey was added in 1878[10]
John Williams House   17 West Jones Street 1883
Thomas Holcombe House   15 West Jones Street 1849
Morris Sternberg House   12–14 West Jones Street 1891 By Alfred Eichberg
Joseph Johnston Property   11 West Jones Street 1854[8] Built for Joseph Johnston, the property was sold to Confederate officer Algernon S. Hartridge in 1860[10]
Noah B. Knapp House   10 West Jones Street 1857[8] Designed by John S. Norris[8]
Eliza Thompson House   5–7 West Jones Street 1847[15][8][2] Western portion added in 1889
Israel K. Tefft House   1 West Jones Street 1849 Built for Israel K. Tefft[10]

East Jones Street edit

Name Image Address Year Note
Alexander A. Smets House   2–4 East Jones Street 1853 Built for Alexander Smets; designed by John S. Norris (now Savannah College of Art and Design's Morris Hall)[8]
Cornelia Millen House   7 East Jones Street 1851 Built by John Scudder for a Miss Cornelia Millen, the building was later purchased by William Davidson, a liquor merchant and an officer with the Chatham Artillery;[10] stoop replaced in 1908
Jacob Cohen Property   10–14 East Jones Street 1889
John Scudder Property (1)   11 East Jones Street 1849–1851[8] Built by and for Scudder, the house was later sold to Charles S. Hardee for $4,500
John Scudder Property (2)   15 East Jones Street 1849–1851 Built by and for John Scudder, it was sold to William Wade in July 1860 for $5,000[10]
Joe Odom House   16 East Jones Street 1847 Joe Odom was featured in the John Berendt non-fiction novel Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.[1][16] A block south of Madison Square, this and 18 East Jones are two of the earliest constructions on the street[1]
Quantock Row  
Quantock Row
 
27
 
31
17–31 East Jones Street 1854 (circa)[8] Built for Allen William Quantock by John Scudder from 1852 to 1854, the property was sold to Henry Meinhard in 1862 who, in turn, sold it to Gerard and Sarah Treanor[10]
Eliza Ann Jewett Property   18 East Jones Street 1847 Built around the same time as the Joe Odom House next door (number 16), the two being amongst the earliest constructions on Jones Street[1]
Eliza Ann Jewett (Estate of) Property   20–22 East Jones Street 1861[10] Erected out of the estate of Eliza Jewett, built for her granddaughter in 1861[1]
John Howell House   24 East Jones Street 1858; balcony added in 1875 Built for John B. Howell and sold to John Lama in 1862 for $5,000[10]
Hunter-Charlton House   101 East Jones Street 1870
Sarah Gazan House   103 East Jones Street 1891
Margaret Dibble House (west half)   107 East Jones Street 1853 Built for Margaret Dibble and/or Bridget Carey[10]
Margaret Dibble House (east half)   109 East Jones Street 1853 Built for Margaret Dibble and/or Bridget Carey[10]
David Cohen House   108 East Jones Street 1853 Built for David Lopez Cohen (1820–1893),[17] a successful ship builder from Charleston, South Carolina. He also built the Shearit Israel Synagogue at 34 Wentworth Street in Charleston.[17][18] He is interred in Laurel Grove Cemetery[10]
Eliza Ann Jewett Row House (Calhoun Ward)  
111–115
 
Close-up of 115
111–115 East Jones Street 1852–1853 Built for Eliza Jewett.[10] 115 featured in the 1997 movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil as the venue for the party hosted by Joe Odom
Eliza Ann Jewett Row House (Lafayette Ward)  
112–116
 
Close-up of 116
112–120 East Jones Street 1852 Built for Eliza Jewett[10]
Eliza Ann Jewett Row House (Calhoun Ward)   117–119 East Jones Street 1854[2] Built for Eliza Jewett[10]
Augustus Barié Property   123 East Jones Street 1855 Built for Augustus Barié; bay window added in 1876[10]
Mary Grimball House   124 East Jones Street 1850 Built for Mary Grimball, wife of a planter from the Isle of Hope. Sold in 1855 to William Chaplin, who lived here until 1883[10]
Francis Waver House   125 East Jones Street 1856
Abram Minis House   204 East Jones Street 1859 Built for Abram Minis; designed by Stephen Decatur Button[8]
Francis Ruckert Property   207–211 East Jones Street 1866
James Snider House   208 East Jones Street 1856 Cornices and veranda added in 1877
Mary Perry Row House   212–218 East Jones Street 1853
Thomas Holcombe Duplex   213–215 East Jones Street 1853
Augustus Barié Property  
Full shot
 
Sign on the corner of 222 East Jones at Lincoln Street
222 East Jones Street 1857 Built for Augustus Barié, sold to George Dillon in December 1857 for $5,500. By 1859, Dillon had sold the property to John Cunningham, who kept it until 1873[10]
James Graybill House   223 East Jones Street 1866[10]
John Schwarz House   302–306 East Jones Street 1890
Eliza McCormack House   308 East Jones Street 1898
Augustus Bonard Row House   313–317 East Jones Street 1868 By M. Williams
John Richardson Duplex   316–318 East Jones Street 1852
Sarah Bailey Property   321–323 East Jones Street 1853
Charles Barnwall/Sabra Ulmer Duplex   401–405 East Jones Street 1856
Paulson & Morgan Row House   407–413 East Jones Street 1875
J. J. Dale Duplex (Troup Ward)   408–410 East Jones Street 1883 By William Noonan
J.J. Dale Duplex (Wesley Ward)   415–417 East Jones Street 1883
John Asendorf Property (west)   418 East Jones Street 1863 By William Noonan
John Asendorf Property (east)   420–424 East Jones Street 1867 By William Noonan
Frederick Klug House   427–429 East Jones Street 1879
James Cann Property  
502
 
504
502–504 East Jones Street 1861 Built for James F. Cann.[10] 502 was a commercial building; 504 was residential
Charles & Joseph Fulton House   503–505 East Jones Street 1872
Silas Fulton Property (1)   507–509 East Jones Street 1860 Built for Silas Fulton[10]
Robert Low Property (1)   510 East Jones Street 1870 Built by Robert Low[19]
James Bandy Property   511–513 East Jones Street 1861 Built for James W. Bandy[10]
Robert Low Property (2)   512 East Jones Street 1867
Abraham Backer Duplex   514–516 East Jones Street 1867
Silas Fulton Property (2)   515–517 East Jones Street 1860 Built for Silas Fulton[10]
Joseph Bandy Property (1)   519–525 East Jones Street 1866
George Bulloch & Cyrus Campfield Property   520–522 East Jones Street 1867
Joseph Bandy Property (2)   527–529 East Jones Street 1868
Anna Bella Robertson Property   530–534 East Jones Street 1885
Thomas Ford Property (1)   538 East Jones Street 1871
Thomas Ford Property (2)   540 East Jones Street 1871

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Jones Street, Savannah, Ga". GoSouthSavannah. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f McMillan, Cecily Deegan (October 16, 1983). "Making Yourself At Home". The New York Times. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
  3. ^ Schild, Darcy (October 16, 2019). "The most charming streets in America". Business Insider. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
  4. ^ Savannah, Immortal City: Volume One of the Civil War Savannah Series - Barry Sheehy, Cindy Wallace, Vaughnette Goode-Walker (2011), p. 329
  5. ^ Jacobs (December 2015). I-16 Interchange Modification Report (PDF). Chatham County–Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission. p. 2. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
  6. ^ "West Jones Street". Google Street View. January 2019. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
  7. ^ Buker, Allison (Spring 2016). Mapping the Morphological History of Westside Savannah: History, Analysis, + Future Development Considerations (PDF). School of City and Regional Planning, College of Architecture, Georgia Institute of Technology. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Historic Preservation Department (2011). "Historic Building Map: Savannah Historic District" (PDF). Chatham County–Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
  9. ^ Crystal Beer Parlor history
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae Savannah, Immortal City: Volume One of the Civil War Savannah Series - Barry Sheehy, Cindy Wallace, Vaughnette Goode-Walker (2011)
  11. ^ "218 West Jones Street". Realtor.com. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
  12. ^ History - HarperFowlkesHouse.com
  13. ^ Laurel Grove North interments - Interment.net
  14. ^ "The Home | Luxe On Jones". www.luxeonjones.com. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  15. ^ "Eliza Thompson House". Retrieved March 21, 2021.
  16. ^ "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" (PDF). p. 105.
  17. ^ a b "David Lopez Jr.: Builder, Industrialist, and Defender of the Confederacy" - American Jewish Archives
  18. ^ Mapping Jewish CharlestonFrom The Colonial Era To The Present Day - College of Charleston
  19. ^ "510 E Jones Street". Historic Savannah Foundation. Retrieved May 10, 2022.

External links edit

  • A walk along Jones Street, from Tattnall Street near its western end to East Broad Street at its eastern end, and back – YouTube, December 13, 2020 (4K)
  • "Is Jones Street Really the Prettiest Street in Savannah?" – SavannahFirstTimer.com