Placentia Plantation

Placentia Plantation
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General information
LocationSavannah, Georgia, U.S.
Coordinates32°01′37″N 81°03′40″W / 32.02685570°N 81.060990°W / 32.02685570; -81.060990

Placentia Plantation was a plantation founded in the 18th century near colonial Savannah, Province of Georgia, around 3.5 miles (5.6 km) southeast of the city and a short distance west of the Wilmington River. Until emancipation, the plantation was worked by black slaves.[1]

Josiah Tattnall Jr., son of founding father of Savannah, Josiah Tattnall Sr., inherited the plantation in 1781.[2][3][4][5] He was born at nearby Bonaventure Plantation. In 1786, Tattnall sold 850 acres (340 ha) of Plancentia to John McQueen.[6]

William Hughes, after surveying the land, divided the property into twelve equal parcels, each containing 65 acres (26 ha). The plots ran from Skidaway Road to the marshes at the Wilmington River.[6]

Since 1891, Savannah State University has stood partly on the plantation's colored cemetery,[7] a 2.5 acres (1.0 ha) burial site containing many unmarked graves.[1]

In the early 19th century, John Postell Williamson began cultivating the land for rice, cotton and corn.[6][8][9]

In 2018, construction on a memorial garden for the colored graveyard was begun at Savannah State University.[10]

Placentia Canal flows north through the area and empties into the Wilmington River across from Richardson Creek.[11] It was constructed between 1877 and 1887.[12]

The plantation is mentioned in Big Auntie's Pearls, a 2021 novel by Hope Gregory.[13]

References

  1. ^ a b "Editorial: Georgia's dark past remembered as SSU builds for future". Savannah Morning News. Retrieved 2023-06-13.
  2. ^ Abstracts of Wills of South Carolinians Recorded in Savannah, Ga., B.F. Taylor (1940)
  3. ^ Joseph Nathan Kane; Charles Curry Aiken (2005). The American Counties: Origins of County Names, Dates of Creation, and Population Data, 1950-2000 (5th ed.). Scarecrow Press. p. 292. ISBN 0-8108-5036-2.
  4. ^ Oberg, Barbarta B. (ed.). The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Volume 35: 1 August to 30 November 1801, Thomas Jefferson, 1950. p. 144. ISBN 978-0-691-13773-5.
  5. ^ South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, volume 40. South Carolina Historical Society. 1939. p. 179.
  6. ^ a b c ssuimpressions (2017-02-09). "Unbroken Ground". Impressions. Retrieved 2023-06-13.
  7. ^ Roberts, Shelbey (2018-02-23). "SSU 'memorial garden' to honor enslaved African-Americans on Placentia Plantation". WTGS. Retrieved 2023-06-13.
  8. ^ Carter, Lori (1988-10-01). "John Postell Williamson (1778-1843)". Savannah Biographies.
  9. ^ Hartridge, Walter Charlton (2010). Letters of Robert MacKay to His Wife: Written from Ports in America and England, 1795-1816. University of Georgia Press. p. 281. ISBN 9780820335384.
  10. ^ Jones, Rhonda (2018-03-01). "University breaks ground on memorial for 'Colored Graveyard'". The Tiger's Roar. Retrieved 2023-06-13.
  11. ^ "Placentia Canal at US 80, at Savannah, GA". waterdata.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2023-06-13.
  12. ^ Behavior & Society. U.S. Department of Commerce, National Technical Information Service. 1984.
  13. ^ GREGORY, HOPE (2020-02-22). BIG AUNTIE's PEARLS: An interactive Choreo-Novel. HOPE GREGORY. ISBN 978-0-578-68618-9.
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