#42: The Ballastone Inn

“Fools rush in where wise men never go. 

But wise men never fall in love, so how are they to know?” 

—Johnny Mercer  

The Ballastone Inn 

This beautiful building, located at 14 East Oglethorpe Avenue, is now the residence of the Ballastone Inn. It was built in 1838 and has been a prominent and storied Savannah mansion ever since.  

As Savannah native Johnny Mercer once wrote so very well: “Fools Rush In.” They do, indeed. Savannah has long been a destination favored for celebrating weddings. With my three Jack Russell’s in tow, I daily walk its Squares and every week witness several young couples throwing caution to the wind. It’s a safe bet when assuming that Mercer was right when he lyricized: “Romance is a game for fools.” 

The Ballastone Inn began hosting Savannah’s first bed and breakfast in 1980, and it remains to this day one of the most romantic and luxurious inns located at the heart of Savannah’s Historic District. 

One of its early owners was Major George W. Anderson. He inherited the property from his wealthy father, a prosperous merchant, and owner of the Lebanon Plantation located just outside the city. 

Toward the end of the Civil War, Major Anderson was the commanding Confederate officer at Fort McAllister, one of three forts designed to protect the port of Savannah — with the other two being Fort Pulaski and Fort James Jackson. Pulaski was captured in 1862 (Postcards from Savannah #37). Taking Fort James Jackson posed little trouble for Union Forces as they approached Savannah in late-1864. 

A few days before William Tecumseh Sherman reached Savannah on his famous March to the Sea, he sent a portion of his army to capture Fort McAllister. Sherman believed taking Fort McAllister was the key to the final Savannah campaign. Unlike Fort Pulaski years earlier, Fort McAllister had already survived several massive bombardments from Union warships, including the ironclad USS Montauk. 

Also, unlike the battle at Fort Pulaski, Fort McAllister was an earthwork and not made of bricks and stone. As a result, it was a more resilient defensive structure. It survived seven fierce engagements with the Union Navy—which, ultimately, was forced to withdraw to await the arrival of Sherman’s army. 

Once Sherman’s Union Forces arrived at the fort, the hand-to-hand fighting was ferocious. But the fort’s inhabitants did give way while Sherman observed the battle from a short distance away. Anderson was wounded during the fight. Fort McAllister is the point on the map where Sherman’s March to the Sea ended. It was also where the Civil War came to an end for Major Anderson.  

After his defeat at Fort McAllister, George W. Anderson was imprisoned on his own plantation, which had become the headquarters of the Fifteenth Army Corps of the U.S. Army. He managed to recover his property in 1871. Busy Savannahian Mills B. Lane purchased the Lebanon Plantation from Anderson’s heirs in 1916. George W. Anderson died in 1906 and now buried in Laurel Grove Cemetery. 

Another officer who served in the Confederate Army, Captain Henry Blun, later enlarged the old Anderson house to its current size in the 1880s, using prominent Boston architect William Gibbons Preston. The latter also designed other noteworthy Savannah landmarks, including the Savannah Cotton Exchange Building (PFS #28). The Ballastone Inn comes with romance and engaging Savannahian history. 

Ballastone Inn painting in progress