There and Back Again: Charleston to Savannah
Travel roads lined with historic ruins and haunted destinations
Backroads transport us to the places in between. This regularly occurring feature takes you to and from two southeastern destinations via winding rural roads lined with historic ruins, captivating landscapes, preserved homeplaces and, in this particular journey, haunted destinations. Take one route there and another back for two unique experiences.
Our fall excursion follows coastal highway U.S. 17 from Charleston to Savannah, offering intriguing stops along the way. You’ll travel west then southwest into Savannah, passing through small towns and, at times, edging close enough to the coastline to see the ocean. Peel off side roads to explore some of the area’s hidden gems and historic treasures.
Discover magnificent gardens, preserved ruins, a Civil War battlefield, and one of America’s most famous cemeteries. Walk through prominent homes, hotels, and other establishments rumored to be haunted. Tour a U.S. Marines museum, hike through a wildlife refuge, and stand under a famous oak tree. This journey has it all.
The drive from Charleston to Savannah is slightly longer than the trip back: 3 hours, 19 minutes, and 146 miles, compared to 2 hours, 52 minutes, and 122 miles. We recommend booking an overnight stay at one of the haunted hotels profiled in our sidebar for a spiritually enlightening experience.
At the end of this post, our Explorer and Voyager subscribers will find Google Maps links from Charleston to Savannah, then back again from Savannah to Charleston, plus bonus info about unique accommodations so you can book an overnight stay to break up your trip.
GET THERE:
Charleston to Savannah
BACKROAD ROUTE
3 hours 19 minutes; 146 miles • 5 stops
Charleston > Yemassee > Thunderbolt > Savannah
STARTING POINT
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens
3550 Ashley River Road; Charleston, South Carolina
magnoliaplantation.com
South Carolina’s oldest plantation also claims the country’s oldest estate garden. Original owner Thomas Drayton Jr. founded Magnolia Plantation in 1676, and his descendents still own it. The property’s beautiful gardens have been open to the public since the early 1870s. In 2009, the Travel Channel’s Ghost Adventures team investigated Magnolia Plantation and Gardens. While inside one of the slave cabins, the crew heard chanting and tapping noises. Meanwhile, Syfy’s Ghost Hunters also sent out a team in 2012 to investigate and heard unexplained music, coughing, and a disembodied female voice.
Fort Lamar Historic Preserve
Fort Lamar Road; Charleston, South Carolina
battlefields.org/visit/heritage-sites/fort-lamar-historic-preserve
Fort Lamar was originally referred to as the Tower Battery because of its 75-foot observation tower, but it was renamed after Col. Thomas G. Lamar successfully commanded Confederate troops there during the Battle of Secessionville on
June 16, 1862. Lamar’s soldiers outnumbered Union troops, despite losing many in his unit, including Captain Samuel J. Reed of Blackville, South Carolina (pictured at right). At least 150 soldiers died during the Battle of Secessionville. Some say its grisly scenes replay in the muddy creeks and remnants of Confederate earthworks. Stroll across the battlefield to see if you hear—or see—anything unusual.
Harold’s Country Club, Yemesee
97 US-21, Yemassee, SC 29945
haroldscountryclub.com
Stop here for lunch or dinner on the way to Savannah. Established in 1973, Harold’s Country Club is “in the middle of nowhere but close to everywhere.” Near the Colleton and Jasper County line, this homestyle restaurant serves mouthwatering southern cuisine in what many consider the heart of the Lowcountry. Choose from burgers, steak, seafood, wings, and more, with side dishes ranging from onion rings to jalapeño peppers. A gathering place for local celebrities and pretty much everyone else, Harold’s Country Club also offers a jukebox, billiards area, and NASCAR on TV.
Old Sheldon Church Ruins
Old Sheldon Church Road; Yemassee, South Carolina
beaufortsc.org/things-to-do/attractions/old-sheldon-church-ruins
After your meal, take a backroad over to what was originally known as Prince William’s Parish Church. Old Sheldon Church was built in Greek Revival style between 1745 and 1753. The British burned it in 1779 during the Revolutionary War but it was rebuilt in 1826. Another war took its aim when General Tecumsah Sherman set the church on fire in 1865. What remains provides a backdrop for weddings, photography sessions, an annual worship service on the second Sunday after Easter, and, of course, paranormal investigations. Visitors have reported hearing footsteps and seeing a woman named Ann Bull Heyward, who is buried in the graveyard, mourning over a child’s tomb.
Bonaventure Cemetery
330 Bonaventure Road; Thunderbolt, Georgia
bonaventurehistorical.org
Just 3 miles from downtown Savannah, Bonaventure Cemetery is considered one of America’s most beloved and beautiful resting places. The historic site gained additional fame when author John Berendt released his 1994 novel Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, which was made into a movie in 1997. Bonaventure Cemetery covers 103 acres of what was once a 600-acre plantation originally settled by English Colonel John Mullryne in 1760. Mullryne built his home atop a bluff overlooking the Wilmington River and named it “Bonaventure”—the Italian word for “good fortune.”
Live oaks dripping with Spanish moss set the scene for a peaceful kind of paranormal activity here. Stories of haunted sculptures and statues adorning gravesites circulate throughout Savannah. One of the more famous hauntings involves the daughter of a hotel manager, Gracie Watson, who died of pneumonia at the young age of 6.
AND BACK:
Savannah to Charleston
BACKROAD ROUTE:
2 hours 52 minutes; 122 miles • 6 stops
Savannah > Beaufort > Hollywood > John’s Island
STARTING POINT
Accommodations of your choice
(Scroll to the end for a list of haunted accommodations to check out!)
Sorrel-Weed House
6 W. Harris Street; Savannah, Georgia
sorrelweedhouse.com
One of the finest examples of Greek Revival and Regency architecture in Savannah is also considered one of the world’s most haunted houses. Constructed between 1835 and 1840 by Charles Cluskey for Francis Sorrel, a prominent merchant to the West Indies, the Sorrel-Weed House is marred with tragedy. After Sorrel’s first wife died, he married her younger sister, Matilda, who later committed suicide after catching Francis in an affair with Molly, an enslaved woman who lived there. A few weeks later, Molly was also found dead, apparently from suicide.
Matilda’s and Molly’s spirits are rumored to haunt the property. Visitors have seen their silhouettes walking the halls—some have even captured photos of them. Other visitors claim to have seen spirits’ reflections in a large mirror original to the home. The Sorrel-Weed House’s basement is also rumored to be haunted by former American Revolutionary War soldiers, since it was built in the same spot where British militia built fortresses in preparation for the 1779 Siege of Savannah.
Mercer-Williams House
429 Bull Street; Savannah, Georgia
mercerhouse.com
This Renaissance Revival home designed by New York architect John S. Norris for General Hugh W. Mercer is located in the southwest corner of Savannah’s Monterey Square. Construction began in 1860 but the Civil War interrupted its progress, so Mercer, great-grandfather of songwriter Johnny Mercer, sold the unfinished structure to John R. Wilder. Ironically, no one in the Mercer family ever actually lived in the home. In 1969, Savannah preservationist Jim Williams bought the estate and spent two years restoring it. Williams threw extravagant parties at the home, but everything changed in 1981 after a tragic murder took place within its walls. Williams shot and killed his assistant and lover, Danny Hansford, claiming self defense. After four trials, Williams was found not guilty. Just eight months after his acquittal, Williams unexpectedly died from pneumonia and heart failure. Today, Williams’ niece, Susan Kingery, continues what her mother—Williams’ sister, Dorothy Williams Kingery—started by running the house as a museum and shop. Guests report seeing apparitions, hearing disembodied voices and footsteps, and experiencing other paranormal activity believed to be the spirit of Hansford and a young boy named Tommy Downs who died at the age of 11 after entering the house to chase birds. Tommy is believed to have either fallen off the roof or the second story balcony.
Pirates’ House Restaurant
20 E. Broad Street; Savannah, Georgia
thepirateshouse.com
Extend your haunted adventures by having a meal at the Pirates’ House Restaurant, originally constructed in 1753 as an inn and tavern for visiting sailors. From she-crab soup to honey-pecan fried chicken and shrimp gumbo, there are plenty of delicious entrees to choose from. Multiple tunnels were reportedly constructed under the inn that led back to the Savannah River. They were used to dump intoxicated sailors onto ships for service. Scottish novelist Robert Louis Stevenson is said to have stayed at the inn. He published Treasure Island in 1883 and mentioned the Pirates’ House and a pirate named Captain John Flint, who supposedly buried a considerable amount of loot on a deserted island. Many people have noticed paranormal activity attributed to the seamen, criminals, and other unsavory characters who inhabited the inn and tavern back in the day. Diners often take pictures during their meal and later see orbs floating throughout them.
Parris Island Museum
676 Panama Street; Beaufort, South Carolina
parrisislandmuseum.org
Parris Island Museum takes visitors through the
local and regional history of the U.S. Marines. Housed in the War Memorial building on the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, the museum offers 10,000 square feet of exhibit space that includes a library, historical archives, and manuscript collections. Free to the public, the museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday (except during graduation week, when it opens at 8 a.m. on Thursdays and Fridays). Parris Island Museum claims a ghost story as well. While the year is unknown, a group of marines were rumored to have drowned in a marsh near the base that later triggered sightings of their spirits there.
Ernest F. Hollings ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge
8675 Willtown Road; Hollywood, South Carolina
fws.gov/refuge/ernest-f-hollings-ace-basin/visit-us/locations
Speaking of marshes, the ACE (Ashepoo-Combahee-Edisto) Basin National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1990 as a wetland and habitat protection area, then renamed the Ernest F. Hollings ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge after the South Carolina retired U.S. senator of the same name. Located within the larger 350,000-acre ACE basin system, this area provides a unique and critical environment for a wide range of wildlife and plants. The Grove Plantation is located within the basin on the Edisto River, and has been converted into offices to serve as the refuge’s headquarters.
Angel Oak
3688 Angel Oak Road, Johns Island, South Carolina
charleston-sc.gov/153/angel-oak
For your last stop, drive over to Johns Island to see a true lowcountry treasure that attracts 400,000 visitors each year. At 65 feet high with a 28-foot circumference, Angel Oak is considered the largest live oak tree east of the Mississippi, and estimated to be between 300 and 400 years old. Named after Justus Angel and his wife, Martha Waight Tucker Angel, the tree is located on property that originally belonged to Martha’s family. It was transferred to Justus as part of their marriage settlement.
Some claim Angel Oak is haunted by the spirits of Native Americans who protect a burial site rumored to be located under the tree. Others attribute paranormal activity to the spirits of enslaved people who once lived on the property.
Angel Oak is located in what has become a public park and historic site for the City of Charleston. Admission is free, but you’ll need a permit to host a wedding, photo shoot, or other special event there. Call 843.724.7327 for more information.
BONUS CONTENT
Below the paywall, upgraded subscribers can access Google map links to both journeys and view our recommendations for where to stay in the area. We also have a bonus location to add to your trip that didn’t appear in the original story.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Backroad Portfolio to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.