Talk:Savannah, Missouri

Savannah History

Savannah was established in 1841 as an inland village hewn out of the surrounding wilderness as part of the Platte Purchase. The Platte was the territory in the northwest corner of Misour which had been purchased from the Sac and Fox Indians in 1836. By this purchase the boundary line for Missouri became the Missouri River from Kansas City northward to the Iowa line.

While organized in 1841, Savannah's original name was Union, but changed it's name later that year as a courtesy to one member of the county court: Samuel Crowley. Samuel was a native Georgian who loved the Savannah of his home state. The original town of Savannah consisted of 49 blocks - seven blocks square; today Savannah stretches a mile in all directions.

Savannah began as a rural community with merchantile interests. In Savannah's past are two tanneries, two plow manufacturers a harrow factory and a pottery, all of which are out of business. The first courthouse was east of the current location and was a log-hewn structure and stood on the corner of Sixth and Market streets, present location of the Christian Church.

Dr. Perry Nichols' Sanitorium

From "The Andrew County Republican," dated March 1, 1912, we find this front-page article: "The greatest thing for Savannah, in a business way, since the building of the Interurban, came this week so quietly that many of our people knew nothing of it until the site had been purchased."

Then the article told how Dr. Perry Nichols, with a nation-wide reputation as a cancer specialist, had purchased the thirty acres of the Eli Beaghler property "at the foot of Christian Ridge" and would build a cancer sanitorium there as soon as possible.

It took a year or more to build the two large frame buildings that housed the Sanitorium when it first opened for business. During the interim, Dr. Nichols leased of the ancestral home of the Wakefield family just west of the west end of Main Street at Tenth Street. The Wakefield house sat about half way up the hill, facing the east, and if one stood in the front door, he could see straight down Main Street to the Square and along the north side. The house was a large Southern antebellum-type of house with three floors with fifteen rooms, maybe more. It served Dr. Nichols' purposes well until the new buildings were completed.

After they moved to the new location, and increased business began to justify it, more land was purchased and more buildings were either bought or built until there were seven or eight buildings in the Sanitorium community.

The first unit was built in 1915 and the last one -- a three-story Nurse's Home -- was completed in 1921. This last building is still in use. There were three of these frame buildings that were used until 1925, when the first and buildings, used to house patients and as a treatment center, were razed and replaced by a beautiful five-story brick building, which was enlarged in 1930 by the addition of another wing on the north end of the building. This addition was planned from the beginning so that the building would be symmetrical in appearance when completed. When the bricks were purchased, enough bricks were bought, and stored, to make the addition when it was needed. This was so that all of the bricks would match perfectly.

The Nichols Sanitorium had treated 3300 patients up to 1918, and by 1956 the list had grown to 70,000. They came to Savannah from every state in the United States, and from Canada, Australia and England. No one was turned away for lack of funds, but if a person was blessed with an abundance of this world's goods, his bill was likely to be increased somewhat to help care for those who could not pay.

Many medical doctors did not recognize the Sanitorium as a valid medical institution, but the thousands of people who came to Savannah as a last resort and almost without hope, and who left after treatment to live for many years in comfort, seemed to be sufficient proof that this place did relieve suffering and that it added years to the lives of those who were treated.

Dr. Nichols died in September 1925 and the Sanitorium passed into the hands of his daughter, Mrs. Helen Nichols Poston. It continued in business for several years after Dr. Nichols' death. In 1956 it was sold to the Sisters of St. Francis, an order of Catholic nuns dedicated to the care of the aged. They came to Savannah in 1957 and established their motherhouse in the main building of the former Dr. Nichols' Sanitorium. In a short time they began to admit elderly women to their Retirement Home on the upper floors. The name was changed and the community "at the foot of the Christian Ridge" became La Verna Heights, which has since moved operations into a newer facility. The original building is now vacant.

Thus an era was ended. The Dr. Nichols' Sanitorium served this community and the world for a period of forty-five years. It gave health to thousands of people; it gave work to hundreds of Savannah's residents; it gave an athletic field to the Savannah school system; its people were always the forefront of any project which the community undertook for the betterment of Savannah. There are many people still living in Savannah who can remember when it came here, how it helped the community in so many ways, and who were sorry to see the era in Savannah's history come to an end.

Interurban Railroad:

Many years ago, the Interurban railroad ran between Savannah, Saint Joseph, and Kansas City, Missouri. However, the construction of Highway 71 led to the railway's demise. Dr Nichols Sanitorium was then renovated into a nursing home by the Sisters of St. Francis because the number of nuns in the region had greaty diminished. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.119.214.194 (talk) 17:18, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

local government

The city is run by a Mayor-Council form of government with a city Administrator. City Hall is located at 402 Court Street. An agreement was made between the city and Rural Fire District in 1980 two provide fire protection for the entire county. The department has 30 volunteers, a Chief and an Assistant Fire Chief. The police department has a Chief and three full time officers and five part time officers (2000 figures).

Improvements:

In the 80s Savannah bought land and constructed a new wastewater plant and was rebuilt and upgraded in the 90s. A new water tower was added in the 90s and a new water plant will go online in 2009? (not verified).

City streets are slowly being upgraded with a concrete paving program recently completed around the north side of the court square in 2008.

Savannah has two city parks: 25 acre Messick and 90 acre Duncan park. Duncan features a 18 hold golf course lighted tennis courts, multi-purpose courts, volleyball courts, walking/jogging trails, fishing, and basketball and softball fields.

School system:

Savannah School District has 4 elementary schools: Amazonia; Helena; John Glenn, located in Country Club, MO and Minnie Cline, in Savannah, MO.

Savannah Middle School houses the 6th to the 8th and is currently building a new facility. The new middle school will be ready for habitation July 2009.

Savannah High School handles grades 9-12. The schools' sports mascot is the Savage and is depicted with the portrait of an Indian. The school colors are black and gold. Savannah High School has had a succesful Academic Bowl team since the late 1970s coached by the school's history teacher, Bill Luce. The team won a national tournement in the late 1980s.

Further research needed:

On a side note, this article needs a lot of work. If anyone actually knows the history of Savannah, Missouri, they should verify my work and add the specific years, and maybe some more information,.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.112.71.106 (talk • contribs) 4 January 2006

bibliography History of Andrew County, Vol. 2; 2000, p.28-30.

Andrew County Missouri: A Community, 1980, p.37-39

City of Savannah web page

Nellie Tayloe Ross

I removed the recently added Wyoming governor. Some quick Googles show she is from "near" St. Joseph and mentions Buchanan County. If you have a source (or perhaps she grew up in Savannah) please use it.Americasroof 19:53, 2 December 2007 (UTC)

I did some further checks politicalgraveyard.com mentions Buchanan County. andrewcounty.org mentions Andrew County. A check of print.google shows she was born on a farm ("plantation") in Andrew County. I will adjust her article accordiningly. We need to put up a list of notable natives on the Andrew County page. Americasroof 20:06, 2 December 2007 (UTC)