I wasn’t aware of Savannah’s Old Fort Jackson until I saw a small sign for it while on my drive to the more popular and well-known Fort Pulaski just down the road. Both forts are accessible from the Islands Expressway, but are a 20-minute drive apart. They both were built to defend the Savannah River, which is a direct channel into downtown Savannah from the sea, as well as the dividing line between Georgia and South Carolina.
This is one of the smaller forts I’ve been to, and it doesn’t take long to explore the entire thing. If not for the cannon firing demonstration, the $15 admission price feels a bit high.
The whole site is a small operation, with just one guide, dressed in military uniform, stationed at the fort itself. He gave a 30-minute talk about the fort’s history, then performed a cannon firing demonstration solo.
Old Fort Jackson is part of the Second System of seacoast fortifications and is Georgia’s oldest standing brick structure. Its ability to withstand the last couple hundred years can be attributed to the high-quality bricks that comprise its sturdy walls. I’m told during my visit that the bricks were handmade by slaves, and the recipe has since been lost to time. At one point, a chemical company wanted to buy the site just to get their hands on the bricks.
Some bricks near the entrance were defaced in the early 1900s by soldiers that were stationed at the fort overnight. They carved their names into the brick wall:
