The dead town ofNew Savannah begancirca 1740 as aChickasaw village on theSavannah River, at the mouth of Butler Creek belowAugusta. Stories as to the circumstances vary, but in any case some portion of theHorse Creek Chickasaws under Squirrel King moved across the river and founded the town from which they farmed, hunted and scouted until theRevolutionary War. In 1757, CPT Daniel Pepper estimated the population there as "seventy Gun Men" (Milling 1940:196).
After the Revolution, New Savannah became atobacco inspection. Tobacco leaf grown at local farms was packed into large hogshead barrels, and rolled to the town to obtain the official quality inspection necessary for its marketing. Sealed and quality-branded hogsheads were then loaded onto pole boats for transport to the seaport and market atSavannah, Georgia 215 river miles downstream. Augusta's Tobacco Road still exists by that name and, according toGeorgia Place-Names, was laid out in 1789. The tobacco market waned in the very early 19th century and, with that, the commercial existence of New Savannah.
(Note that the similarly named and somewhat contemporaneousSavannah Town, South Carolina was located by Fort Moore several miles upstream.)
New Savannah was located at 33°22'21"N, 81°56'45"W (NAD83/WGS84), at the mouth of Butler Creek about 14 river miles downstream ofAugusta, Georgia. Aside from a nearby cemetery, nothing remains of the original site, which is located withinNew Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam Park.
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