Catherine Varnedeau was in the room where the incident occurred.
When Anna Colquitt Hunter went to the Lucy Barrow McIntyre house with news of a planned demolition in town, Varnedeau’s job was to buy Coca-Cola for her grandmother and her guests, but before she could rush off to get the drinks, she heard the news.
“Lucy, they’re going to tear down the Davenport House,” McIntyre’s granddaughter, Vernedoe, recalled Hunter saying.
Hunter and McIntyre, along with Katherine Judkins Clark, Elinor Adler Dillard, Dorothy Ripley Roebling and Jane Adair Wright, were among the first seven women to save the Davenport House in 1955 and launch Savannah’s historic preservation movement.
Now, descendants of those seven pioneer women are leading a movement to have their names immortalized on a Savannah square. The Savannah-Chatham County Historic Sites and Monuments Commission unanimously approved plans Monday to erect a monument honoring those original seven on Columbia Square, just yards from the Davenport House.
“We want to be recognized by (my grandmother) and all the other women,” Varnedeau said. “They were all amazing women.”
Another descendant leading the monument movement is McIntyre’s granddaughter, Lucy Brannen, named after the pioneering preservationist.
Brannen said she began working on the memorial after a friend recommended seven women as namesakes for what is now Taylor Square. Fundraising is currently underway for the memorial at Columbia Square.
“We were upset to discover there was absolutely no public recognition for these seven women,” Brannen said. “Without their accomplishments, we would have none of what we enjoy today.”
The preliminary design and location of the monument approved by the Historic Sites and Monuments Commission will be sent to the Savannah City Council for a vote, after which the final design and funding will be returned to the commission for a second round of approval.
According to a press release from HSF, the descendant group aims to have the monument erected in the summer of 2025 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the preservation of the Davenport House and the founding of the Historic Savannah Foundation.
“Without the vision of these seven incredible environmental leaders, the city we enjoy today would not exist,” HSF CEO and president Sue Adler said in a statement. “Currently, there is no memorial in any city square honoring their contributions to Savannah. We are thrilled to see this new memorial take shape, celebrating the incredible impact these seven women had on Savannah.”
The current proposed location for the stone is on the north side of the square, behind two existing benches, with Davenport House located in the background.
The memorial will include the names of the seven individuals and a description of their achievements, and note that the preservation of the Davenport House marked a “turning point” in limiting the destruction of Savannah’s historic buildings, according to a statement from HSF.
“When I read about what they did, I see the homes they saved,” Varnedeau said.
Evan Lasseter is city and county government reporter for the Savannah Morning News. He can be reached at ELasseter@gannett.com.