Page 4 - Port Wentworth NCG 2011

• At-A-Glance
z

Shortly after General

James Oglethorpe first
established the city of
Savannah in the early

1700s, English colonists
in the Trust Colony of
Georgia began spreading
z
outside the city limits.
z

Port Wentworth At-A-Glance

h he early colonists of Port Southern states in the early 1790s.
h h T Wentworth began establish- Sadly, the great plantation house was
h R
ing farms and plantations destroyed in 1864 by General William
on the outskirts of Savannah, trading Sherman during his march to Savan-
with the Native Americans, and bring- nah and the sea. Sherman’s historic
ing the land’s proceeds to Savannah route was along what is now known as
for trade. The Mary Musgrove Trading Highway 21.
Post, one of the last Native American After the Civil War, the city grew 2008 Dixie Crystal
z
Sugar Refinery
sites in Chatham County, was located along with the area, especially after z
on the site in Port Wentworth now oc- World War II when returning GIs dis- Explosion
cupied by the Georgia Ports Authority. covered the area was ideal for raising
These colonists founded Port Wen- February 7, 2008 was a dark day
tworth in 1733.While it was once their new families. These same GIs in Port Wentworth, when a sugar
found jobs here in lumber (pulp and
thought that they named it after Lady paper), railroad, ship building, a sugar dust explosion at Imperial Sugar’s
Henrietta Maria Wentworth of England large Dixie Crystal refinery killed
(1660-1686), the sixth Baroness Went- refinery, banking, and brick kilns, and 14 people and injured 42.
worth, the truth is the town was in neighboring Savannah. Port Went- As a result of the disaster, the
named for G.W. Wentworth, president worth incorporated in 1957, and our local economy slumped while
of Great Eastern Lumber Company, the residents continue to find the city one the factory remained sidelined.
town’s first industry. of which they are proud to be a part. In November 2009, the extensive
The colonists developed large rice • Population, 2009: 4,167 rebuild project at the refinery
and cotton plantations that were fed was completed successfully, as
by the Savannah River, one of which • Location: in Chatham County, three new 156 foot-tall sugar silos
was Mulberry Grove Plantation, best Eastern Georgia, near neighboring became fully operational.
known as the site where Eli Whit- Effingham and Bryan counties, at the As a tribute to the 14 who lost
ney invented the cotton gin in 1793, northern-most Exit 109 on Interstate their lives that cold February
which revolutionized the South. Mul- 95 in Georgia. Ten miles south of this night, a huge bronze statue
berry Grove and its neighbor, Drakie exit is the intersection of I-95 and I-16, depicting the hands of God
Plantation, were once an integral part from which trucks can carry goods west. releasing 14 doves now stands in
of Georgia’s First City, growing the • Climate: Summer temperatures the middle of Legacy Park across
crops and creating the technology are in the 80°-90°F range; winters from the plant. Inside the granite
z
necessary to make Savannah an impor- range in the 50s. The annual average base rests a time capsule, with
tant international port. precipitation at Port Wentworth is 49 a Bible and the thoughts and
z
George Washington stayed at Mul- inches. The wettest month of the year prayers of dozens of people.
berry Grove twice during tours of the is August, averaging 7 inches.

4
Port Wentworth Community Guide 2011-2012 • www.visitportwentworth.com • 912-965-1999