Wormsloe State Historic Site

08/03/2026

Looking for a new adventure? Come join our team. We are currently interviewing for clerks and trolley drivers. Call the office for more information and to schedule an interview. 912-353-3023

08/01/2026

We are just a week away from our Georgia's First 4th event taking place on August 8th, 2026! If you've never taken part before, this event is fun for all ages and is a good way to get a glimpse of what life was like when the Declaration of Independence first reached the colony of Georgia!

This event is included with admission and will include living history demonstrations taking place throughout the day starting at 10 AM! There will also be readings of the Declaration at 11 AM and 2 PM at our Tabby Ruins followed by a march to our Colonial Life Area that will end in a mock funeral for King George III. We hope to see everyone there!

Did you know that the Declaration of Independence did not reach Georgia until August of 1776? When news of the document reached the citizens of Georgia, the people of Savannah took part in merry-making, cannon firings, and even a mock funeral for King George III! Come celebrate this monumental moment in out state's history with us here at Wormsloe on Saturday, August 8th!

Living history demonstrations will be taking place throughout the day and we will be hosting readings of the Declaration at 11 AM and 2 PM at our Tabby Ruins! The readings will wrap up with a march to out Colonial Life Area where we will hold our own mock funeral for King George III! All events are included with standard admission, and we hope to see you there!

07/17/2026

Did you know that the Declaration of Independence did not reach Georgia until August of 1776? When news of the document reached the citizens of Georgia, the people of Savannah took part in merry-making, cannon firings, and even a mock funeral for King George III! Come celebrate this monumental moment in out state's history with us here at Wormsloe on Saturday, August 8th!

Living history demonstrations will be taking place throughout the day and we will be hosting readings of the Declaration at 11 AM and 2 PM at our Tabby Ruins! The readings will wrap up with a march to out Colonial Life Area where we will hold our own mock funeral for King George III! All events are included with standard admission, and we hope to see you there!

07/03/2026

Looking for the best way to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States? Come by tomorrow and take part in our Relay Through the Ages!

Relays will be held at 10:30 AM and 2:00 PM at our pollinator field here at Wormsloe! The relays will include modern classics as well as some historic favorites! In between all the fun, we will also be hosting historic weapons demonstrations and discussing the weapons of the American Revolution!

All of the festivities are included with standard admission!

06/04/2026

If you haven't had a chance to stop by the Visitor Center lately, there is an incredible new installation on display.

We are currently hosting a mixed-media art exhibit featuring works by talented University of Georgia students. Inspired by the raw beauty and visual ecology of the Georgia coast, each work is a collection of deeply personal, specific observations, and the quiet details that moved these artists to create.

Take a look at some of the featured artwork below, and make sure to stop in and see them in person before the exhibit closes on June 27th.

05/30/2026

MONUMENTAL MOMENTS: MAY 30TH, 1781
THE MAYHAM TOWER AND THE LIBERATION OF AUGUSTA

By late May 1781, the war for the Georgia interior had ground to a brutal, dusty stalemate. Loyalist forces under Thomas Brown were completely bottled up inside Augusta’s Fort Cornwallis. The fort’s thick earthen walls were formidable, the surrounding clearing offered no cover, and the Patriot forces simply didn't have the heavy artillery needed to pierce the defenses.

On the night of May 30, 1781, they began constructing a secret weapon that would completely change turn the tides in Augusta.

Invented by Major Hezekiah Mayham, the concept was as simple as it was ingenious. Under the cover of darkness on May 30, backcountry militia and Continental soldiers quietly felled massive pine trees, hauling the logs just outside the range of British muskets.

Working frantically through the night, they notched and stacked the timbers to build a massive, hollow square tower, packing the base tightly with dirt to keep it stable. Their goal was simple: build a structure taller than the fort itself, the Mayham Tower.

When the sun rose over Augusta, the British garrison woke to a terrifying sight. A massive wooden tower now loomed directly over their walls.

Patriot sharpshooters climbed to the top, accompanied by a single six-pounder cannon. For weeks, British soldiers had been perfectly safe behind their parapets. Now, the Patriots could fire straight down into the interior of the fort. The British inner defenses were rendered useless, and any soldier who stepped into the open became a target.

Just days later, on June 5, the garrison officially surrendered. The fall of Augusta shattered British control over the Georgia backcountry. It allowed the exiled Patriot government to finally return to Georgia soil, re-establish the legislature, and assert the state's independence as the war entered its final chapters.

05/20/2026

MONUMENTAL MOMENTS: MAY 20TH 1776
GEORGIA BREAKS THE STALEMATE IN PHILADELPHIA

The morning of May 20, 1776, brought a heavy, unrelenting rain to Philadelphia, but inside the Pennsylvania State House, the atmosphere was charged with a different kind of storm. For Dr. Lyman Hall, walking into the chamber that Monday morning was a moment of profound vindication.

For months, Hall had sat in the Second Continental Congress in a state of political limbo. He had been sent to Philadelphia early on to represent only the radical citizens of St. John’s Parish, rather than the colony of Georgia as a whole. He had been a delegate with a voice, but without the full weight of his province behind him.

This morning, everything changed. Standing alongside Button Gwinnett, Hall presented the official credentials issued by the Provincial Congress of Georgia. The document did not merely recognize them as official representatives of the entire colony, it granted them what John Adams would admiringly call "unlimited powers."

While delegates from the middle colonies remained paralyzed by cautious instructions from home to avoid any talk of separation, Hall and Gwinnett were now entirely unshackled.

As Hall took his official seat, he could feel the immediate shift in the room's political gravity. By bringing Georgia fully into the fold, he and Gwinnett had helped solidify a unified southern bloc. They had effectively broken the long-standing congressional stalemate, aligning the South perfectly with the revolutionary fervor of New England.

Looking around the chamber, Hall could see the immediate reactions to their arrival. To one side, John Adams was already preparing letters celebrating the event, noting that independence was now "rolling in like a torrent." On the other side of the room, anxious moderate delegates like Maryland's Thomas Stone would later write that the arrival of the empowered Georgians meant the "dye was cast" and the chance for reconciliation with the Crown was officially dead.

For Lyman Hall, the rainy May morning was the culmination of a lonely, uphill diplomatic battle. He was no longer just an observer from a fractured frontier parish, he was now the fully authorized representative of a unified colony, stepping into the current of history that would lead him, just months later, to sign his name to the Declaration of Independence.

05/18/2026

MONUMENTAL MOMENTS: MAY 18TH
THE BIO OF JOHN BAKER

This is the story of Colonel John Baker, a man whose name you might not know, but whose fierce unyielding devotion helped shape the very ground we walk on today.

Behind the military title was a man of intense conviction, a dedicated father, and a resilient leader who refused to break, even when the tides of war turned completely against him.

John Baker was a husband to Mary Jones and a father to six children. Living on the edge of the volatile southern frontier meant that family life was anything but peaceful. With British and Loyalist raiders constantly targeting the coastal settlements, Mary and the children faced the terrifying reality of sudden evacuations, forced to flee into the woods at a moment's notice.

For Baker, defending his neighbors and protecting his household wasn't just a duty, it was the driving force behind his willingness to repeatedly take the field.

Baker was never a cautious moderate. From the earliest days, he threw his social and physical safety entirely behind the radical Whig cause. He balanced the commanding presence of a wealthy planter with the resilience required to survive on a war-torn border.

When his military operations ended in absolute disaster, Baker didn't retreat to nurse his wounds. He possessed perseverance, continually stepping back into command to reorganize broken militia forces and shield the Georgia coast.

Baker was an avid horseman who specialized in breeding and training quality mounts. This passion directly fueled his service, as he raised, financed, and commanded the volunteer cavalry units known as the Georgia Light Horse.

When the fighting finally ceased, Baker shifted from wartime defense to reconstruction. He returned to Spring Plantation. Like most planters of his era, his agricultural success and status were built upon the labor of enslaved individuals.

In his quiet years, Baker served as a revered elder statesman in the Georgia House of Representatives, helping draft foundational laws before his passing in June 1792.

05/17/2026

MONUMENTAL MOMENTS: MAY 17TH, 1777
THE BATTLE OF THOMAS CREEK

Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Brown’s scouts, a mix of Loyalist Rangers and Creek warriors, had been tracking Colonel John Baker’s horse militia for days. Hoping to gather intelligence, Brown sent a small detachment of fifteen Indians to slip into the American camp under the cover of night to steal Baker's horses.

But, Baker’s guards were alert and the Americans gave chase. In the chaotic shootout that followed, a prominent warrior from the Chiaha town of the Creek Nation was killed.

The retreat turned bitter when the Americans reportedly mutilated the fallen warrior's body. In Creek culture, the desecration of a soldier's body was a violation that demanded atali, a blood oath of revenge. This personal loss completely transformed the British-allied forces. When Governor Patrick Tonyn later wrote his official report, he noted that this specific event "greatly exasperated the Savages," setting a dark tone for the main battle.

When Colonel Baker moved his men west to wait for Commodore Bowen’s Navy, he chose a position along the banks of Thomas Creek, believing the dense wetlands would protect his flank. He did not realize that Thomas Brown’s scouts had already mapped his exact position and had set the classic “hammer and anvil” trap.

At 9:00 AM Brown’s men unleashed their surprise attack, a deafening volley of gunfire from the front and side. The American militia riders instinctively pulled on their reins, spinning their panicked horses around to retreat the way they came.

This was exactly what Prevost anticipated. By turning back, the disorganized militia rode directly into the bayonets of the three British regular columns closing in from the rear. The Americans were squeezed between the "anvil" of Brown's hidden line and the oncoming "hammer" of Prevost's regular infantry.

Panicked men abandoned the fight entirely, throwing themselves off their mounts to flee into the deep Florida swamps. The desperation was so high that one fleeing soldier even stole Colonel Baker’s horse, forcing the commander to wade into the treacherous wetlands on foot to survive.

Eight Americans were killed in the skirmish with over 30 Americans taken prisoner, many of whom would be subjected to the Creek warriors right to atali. Driven by the loss of the Chiaha warrior, they executed over half of the American captives.

05/16/2026

MONUMENTAL MOMETNS: MAY 16, 1777
THE FATAL RIVALRY OF GWINNET AND MCINTOSH
On this anniversary of one of Georgia’s most infamous encounters, we look back at the morning of May 16, 1777, when political rivalry turned fatal just outside the Savannah town limits.

At sunrise, two of Georgia’s most powerful leaders, Button Gwinnett, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and Lachlan McIntosh, a high-ranking Continental officer, met at Sir James Wright’s pasture.

Standing only 12 feet apart, both men fired simultaneously. Both were struck in the thigh. While McIntosh would eventually recover, Gwinnett’s wound turned gangrenous, leading to his death just three days later.

The shot heard 'round Savannah was the result of months of escalating tension. As acting President of Georgia, Gwinnett had arrested McIntosh’s brother on suspicion of treason, a move McIntosh saw as a personal vendetta.

After Gwinnett bypassed McIntosh to lead a disastrous expedition into British Florida, the two traded public blame for the defeat. The Breaking Point came during a meeting of the Georgia Assembly, McIntosh called Gwinnett a "scoundrel and a lying rascal." Under the code duello of the 18th century, Gwinnett felt his honor left him no choice but to issue a formal challenge.

This duel didn't just end a life, it nearly derailed the Revolutionary movement in Georgia. The loss of a signer and the temporary exile of a General left the young state’s leadership in a fragile position during the height of the war.