Frequently Asked Questions

This house is named after Master Builder Isaiah Davenport. He and his crew built this house in 1820. Davenport and his household, which included his family, lived here from 1820 to 1827. Along with being a home, Davenport wanted to show people he could build fine houses by using his own home as an example.
The house was completed circa 1820 and is now over 200 years old.
The attic was where enslaved workers slept and was also used for storage.
The attic would have had very simple furnishings such as a mat and a crate.
It was used for important events in the lives of the Davenports—celebrations as well as funerals.
At the time that the Davenport House was built, wallpaper was very popular to have in one’s home.
Outside the Davenport house does not look the way it did when the Davenports lived in it. Where the garden is was once a working space for the enslaved workers. There would have been animals—a cow and chickens—as well as a wood pile, a small barn (which we call a carriage house), and an outhouse where people used the bathroom.

We do not know for sure. Most likely occasionally.
The attic, most likely, was where the Davenports’ enslaved workers slept.
Up to nine enslaved workers lived in the Davenport House with the Davenport family. Isaiah Davenport owned a total of 13 enslaved persons through his life in Savannah.
The Davenport children inhabited the first and second floors of the house. The daughter had her own bedroom while the sons shared a bedroom.

The Davenport House has been a historic house museum since 1963. It is owned and operated by the Historic Savannah Foundation.
A group of seven Savannah residents got very upset when they heard it would be torn down. They talked amongst themselves and shared their feelings with friends and neighbors. They then raised money to buy the house and turned it into a museum/tour space.
Drones were used to create the tour originally but, with the help of eighth grade students, more interactive elements were added.