504-506 East Hall Lane (House), Savannah

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS GA-2375. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

The structure at East Hall Lane is located within the Beach Institute Historic Neighborhood. Once a part of the Fairlawn Plantation, the area has been a significant part of the black community since before the Civil War. EAST HALL LANE (House) HABS No. GA-2375 (page 2) PART 1:

Physical Context

The structure at East Hall Lane is set in Mercer Ward, a district located within the Beach Institute Historic Neighborhood which is that part of the Savannah Historic District located between Liberty Street on the north, Price Street on the west, East Gwinnett Street on the south, and East Broad Street on the east.

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS GA-2375. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT The area known as the Beach Institute Historic Neighborhood was originally part of a parcel of land owned by Thomas Gibbons. In Gibbons, then a young, wealthy entrepreneur from Savannah, purchased more than 350 acres for a sum of 352 pounds. Over the next few years, Gibbons continued to purchase additional parcels of land until the early when he converted his rather large landholdings into a rice plantation. He gave his new plantation the name, "Fairlawn". A composite map from shows that Gibbons built several structures on the grounds of Fairlawn: a stately lodge surrounded by a grove of large oaks, an overseer's cottage and several rows of slave quarters.

Gibbons moved his family north to New Jersey in the early giving charge of Fairlawn and his personal affairs to a Colonel Maxwell. Gibbons and his family would visit the plantation often, enjoying prolonged vacations during the summer months. The outbreak of the Civil War brought a cessation to agricultural activities all along the Savannah River, and Fairlawn Plantation was no exception. Gibbons joined the Confederate Army and while he was away his slaves abandoned their work and set ablaze the great structures and rice fields of Fairlawn. Nothing remained but the salvage cottages, the overseer's mansion, and Whitefall lodge. Following Lee's surrender to Grant, Gibbons not only feed his slaves, but granted 40 acres and a mule to each family.

By the early the plantation lands were subdivided by streets and the area became a fashionable residential community for middle class Negro families. PART UI:

Site Description

The houses in the Beach Institute Historic Neighborhood are architecturally significant as they represent the types of dwellings which existed as early as the Many lane cottages were built along the dirt lanes to utilize the long, narrow lots to the fullest extent. Although no record of the original construction of East Hall Lane exists, it was most likely built in the late EAST HALL LANE (House) HABS No. GA-2375 (page 3) The property the dwelling is located on has quite an interesting history. An individual by the name of George Anderson purchased several lots in the Beach Institute Historic Neighborhood in including the lot now containing East Hall Lane. He divided the large portion of land he purchased into five equal parts, one for each of his children.

His children then drew lots, and the property containing East Hall Lane fell to his daughter Eliza Nicoll. Today, a street one block to the north of East Hall Lane bears the name "Nicoll Street". The structure at East Hall Lane is a duplex with clapboard siding and a small roof over each landing supported by two turned posts. Each unit is a mirror plan of the other and is entered through the living room in front with the kitchen near the rear and a bathroom beyond. There are two bedrooms in each unit, one off of the living room and one off of the kitchen. The architectural details of the house have been irreparably damaged by weather and vandalism. These details include wainscoting throughout, Bulls-eye Rosette moulding, and fireplaces in both the kitchens and living rooms.

In October of the entire dwelling was in a state of grave disrepair. It was to be demolished in late and replaced by a new unit as part of a revitalization project of the Mercer Ward area, providing quality housing for low-income families. EAST HALL LANE (House) HABS No. GA-2375 (page 4) BIBLIOGRAPHY SAVANNAH RIVER PLANTATIONS; (Original Print) Savannah Historical Society, Print) Reprint Co., Spartenburg, SC NOTE: Measured drawings and physical description of structure provided by Hansen Architects, 300 Bull Street, Suite Savannah, Georgia (October EAST HALL LANE (House) tlBERTY ST. HABS No. GA-2375 (page 5) f- .

L - - - - - - - _ _ J \f) ~ ~'---I_ _!~I '--I ~I 25 1 BEACH INSTITUTE HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOOD co.@ EAST HALL LANE CHATHAM SAVANNAH GEORGIA EAST IU-ITNCOON STREfT I I [ } ..r;:Ol.1 STRIIT HUNTINGDON ST. I [ ID: Di0co0 lI C '. HALL ST. I I I EAST HALL LN. II LJ ~~ LJ _ _ _ _ _ __J wr_O'IN-UT_STRIIT EAST HALL LANE (House) HABS No. GA-2375 (page 6) 1 11 IS'-ao" j . EAST HALL LANE CHATHAM CO. SAVANNAH GEORGIA HANSEN ARCHITECTS