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Chatham County, Georgia

Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.

—newspaper titles
—digitized titles
78historic places
—earliest paper
1777formed
295,291pop. 2020
29cemeteries
2CW battlefields

At a glance

Summary

The National Register of Historic Places includes 78 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1966; 10 are also National Historic Landmarks. Most listings are in or near Savannah, Tybee Island, Port Wentworth.

Summary generated automatically from the source data on this page.

Newspapers

Library of Congress

Newspaper directory data for Georgia is not yet loaded on this site. Browse Chatham titles at the Library of Congress.

National Register of Historic Places

NPS NRHP

40 of 78 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.

78 listed properties
PropertyCityTypeListed
Abrahams, Edmund and Mildred, Raised Tybee CottageTybee IslandBuilding2020
Ardsley Park-Chatham Crescent Historic DistrictSavannahDistrict1985
Atlantic Greyhound Bus TerminalSavannahBuilding2016
Bethesda Home for BoysSavannahDistrict1973
Bonaventure CemeterySavannahDistrict2001
Bordley Cottage-Beach View HouseTybee IslandBuilding2014
CSS GEORGIA (ironclad)SavannahSite1987
Carbo House, TheTybee IslandBuilding2010
Carver Village Historic DistrictSavannahDistrict2019
Central of Georgia Depot and Trainshed NHLSavannahDistrict1976
Central of Georgia Railroad: Savannah Shops and Terminal Facilities NHLSavannahDistrict1978
Central of Georgia Railway Company Shop Property NHLSavannahDistrict1970
Charity HospitalSavannahBuilding1985
Curry-Miller-Byrd CottageTybee IslandBuilding2021
Cuyler-Brownville Historic DistrictSavannahDistrict1998
Daffin Park-Parkside Place Historic DistrictSavannahDistrict1999
Davenport, Isaiah, HouseSavannahBuilding1972
Drayton Arms ApartmentsSavannahBuilding2013
Drouillard-Maupas HouseSavannahBuilding1991
Dutton-Waller Raised Tybee CottageTybee IslandBuilding2008
Eastside Historic DistrictSavannahDistrict2002
Eureka Club-Farr's PointSavannahBuilding2009
Fairway Oaks-Greenview Historic DistrictSavannahDistrict2009
Federal Building and U.S. CourthouseSavannahBuilding1974
First Bryan Baptist ChurchSavannahBuilding1978
First Federal Savings and Loan Association HeadquartersSavannahBuilding2026
Fort James Jackson NHLSavannahBuilding1970
Fort Pulaski National MonumentSavannahDistrict1966
Fort Screven Historic DistrictTybee IslandDistrict1982
Gordonston Historic DistrictSavannahDistrict2001
Green-Meldrim House NHLSavannahBuilding1974
Hill Hall at Savannah State CollegeSavannahBuilding1981
Hodgson, W. B., HallSavannahBuilding1977
Isle of Hope Historic DistrictSavannahDistrict1984
Johnson, J. Herbert and Julia, Raised Tybee CottageTybee IslandBuilding2008
Kensington Park-Groveland Historic DistrictSavannahDistrict2014
Kiah MuseumSavannahBuilding2024
Laurel Grove-North CemeterySavannahSite1983
Laurel Grove-South CemeterySavannahSite1978
Lebanon PlantationSavannahBuilding1979
Low, Juliette Gordon, Historic District NHLSavannahDistrict1966
Magnolia Park Historic DistrictSavannahDistrict2024
Massie Common School HouseSavannahBuilding1977
Morgan-Ille CottageTybee IslandBuilding2008
Mulberry Grove SitePort WentworthSite1975
Mulherin-Righton Raised Tybee CottageTybee IslandBuilding2008
New Ogeechee Missionary Baptist ChurchSavannahBuilding2001
Nicholsonville Baptist ChurchNicholsonvilleBuilding1978
Ossabaw IslandSavannahDistrict1996
Owens-Thomas House NHLSavannahBuilding1976
Pine Gardens Historic DistrictSavannahDistrict2014
Rourke, James and Odessa, Jr., Raised Tybee CottageTybee IslandBuilding2010
Savannah Beach Town Hall and AuditoriumTybee IslandBuilding2022
Savannah Historic District NHLSavannahDistrict1966
Savannah Pharmacy and Fonvielle Office BuildingSavannahBuilding2013
Savannah Powder MagazineSavannahBuilding2025
Savannah Victorian Historic DistrictSavannahDistrict1974
Savannah Victorian Historic District (Boundary Increase)SavannahDistrict1982
Savannah Water Works Pump HouseSavannahBuilding2022
Savannah and Ogeechee CanalSavannahDistrict1997
Scarbrough, William, House NHLSavannahBuilding1970
Sea View ApartmentsTybee IslandBuilding2003
Slotin BuildingSavannahBuilding1983
Springfield Terrace SchoolSavannahBuilding2022
St. Bartholomew's ChurchBurroughsBuilding1982
St. Philip AME ChurchSavannahBuilding1984
Sturges, Oliver, HouseSavannahBuilding1971
Telfair Academy NHLSavannahBuilding1976
Thomas Square Streetcar Historic DistrictSavannahDistrict1997
Two Pierpont CircleSavannahBuilding1990
Tybee Island Back River Historic DistrictTybee IslandDistrict1999
Tybee Island Strand Cottages Historic DistrictTybee IslandDistrict1999
U.S. CustomhouseSavannahBuilding1974
Vernonburg Historic DistrictVernonburgDistrict2000
Weil, Edgar A., HouseTybee IslandBuilding2016
Wild HeronSavannahBuilding1977
Williams, Clarence and Louise Golden, HouseSavannahBuilding2023
Wormsloe PlantationSavannahDistrict1973

Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Property links open NRHP nomination files at the National Archives.

County formation

Newberry AHCB

Chatham was formed in 1777 (1777-02-07) from Christ Church Parish, St.

CHATHAM created from Christ Church Parish and St. Philip Parish as one of Georgia's original counties; Christ Church Parish and St. George Parish eliminated.

Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

Population by decade

Census

Chatham County population from 1790 to 2020 (Census historical series).

295k153k11k179018001840188019101920196020002020
17901800182018401860188019001920194019501960198020002020
10,76912,94614,73718,80131,04345,02371,239100,032117,970151,481188,299202,226232,048295,291

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau historical county population (Forstall 1790–1990) and public-domain / CC0 county population series through 2020.

National Park Service sites nearby

NPS

Park units within about 40 km of the county centroid (from NPS Public POIs; no API key).

SiteTypeDist.
Fort Pulaski National MonumentPark unit18.8 km

Source: NPS National Datasets / Public POIs. The NPS Developer API requires a free key and was not used.

Cemeteries & historical places

USGS GNIS

29 cemeteries and 4 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.

Cemeteries — 29 of 29 listed
NameLatLon
Bethel Cemetery32.04644-81.28086
Bonaventure Cemetery32.04435-81.04687
Brickyard Cemetery32.02545-81.31803
Catholic Cemetery32.06208-81.0685
Cherokee Hill Cemetery32.15208-81.18541
Colonial Park Cemetery32.07515-81.09002
Crest Lawn Memory Gardens32.04854-81.04372
East Savannah Cemetery32.05393-81.05253
Elkins Cemetery32.07381-81.36428
Ennis Cemetery32.09558-81.29615
Evergreen Cemetery32.04675-81.1423
Fairlawn Cemetery32.13075-81.15066
Forest Lawn Memory Gardens32.05048-81.04289
Gravel Hill Cemetery32.12453-81.28043
Greenwich Cemetery32.04965-81.03946
Gun Hill Cemetery31.99603-81.29566
Hillcrest Abbey East Cemetery32.06426-81.07129
Hillcrest Abby West Cemetery32.0577-81.20872
Hopeton Plantation Cemetery32.01339-81.25711
Horning Memorial32.11319-81.32264
Laurel Grove South Cemetery32.05872-81.11713
Lincoln Memorial Cemetery32.02131-81.12705
Magnolia Memorial Park32.03903-81.21599
New Guinea Cemetery31.99104-81.09122
Old Church Cemetery31.98482-81.07293
Sand Hill Cemetery32.0009-81.29798
Waldburgh Cemetery32.00977-81.19723
Wild Horn Cemetery31.97186-81.22416
Wright Cemetery32.09315-81.31532
Historical populated places — 4 of 4
NameLatLon
Bonaventure32.04521-81.05095
Lazaretto32.01549-80.87011
Sackville32.02577-81.09206
Spauldings Settlement32.09604-81.08261

Source: USGS Geographic Names Information System (public domain). Cemeteries from the 2021 NationalFile archive; historical places from GNIS HistoricalFeatures topical extract.

Civil War battlefields nearby

ABPP

American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) Civil War study areas near this county.

BattlefieldStudy acresDist.Site ID
Fort Mcallister Ii3,68712.5 kmGA028
Fort Pulaski10,02820.1 kmGA001

Source: NPS American Battlefield Protection Program Civil War Study Areas (public ArcGIS feature service).

Historical markers

HMdb link

Marker text and photos from the Historical Marker Database (HMdb) are not embedded here. HMdb allows non-commercial reuse with attribution, but commercial/compensated use needs written permission; this is a commercial site, so we only link out.

Search HMdb for Chatham County, Georgia

Terms: hmdb.org/copyright.asp. Linking is encouraged by HMdb.