Cited as the catalyst for Savannah’s nationally recognized preservation movement, the Isaiah Davenport House was spared from destruction for a funeral home parking lot in 1955 and has been painstakingly renovated over the years to its due place as one of Georgia’s architectural gems.

Isaiah Davenport (1784-1827), was a native of Little Compton, Rhode Island. He trained as a carpenter’s apprentice in New Bedford, Massachusetts, before migrating to Savannah circa 1808. Operating in the transitional era between colonial traditions and the early national period, Davenport quickly became a prominent entrepreneur in his adopted city. His home is celebrated as one of the finest American examples of Federal-style domestic architecture, and it was built with the the forced labor of enslaved workers. As many as 13 enslaved craftsmen and laborers performed the heavy carpentry and construction that made his projects possible.

National Register of Historic Places