The network of tunnels beneath Savannah is a maze of myths, legends, and history. Many people have never seen the tunnels in person. Tour guides, historians and city workers have differing opinions about which tunnels are where and what was transported through them. For example, the Pirate’s House Restaurant claims that the tunnel beneath its establishment was once used for drunken sailors. Stories suggest that pirates, or simply unscrupulous captains seeking to recruit sailors to their ranks, dragged the victims to the rum cellar before taking them to the river via a hidden tunnel. The tunnel was probably not used for these nefarious purposes, considering that the owners of most of the pirate stories about the restaurant are likely to have invented them. According to rumors, tunnels beneath the city were used to transport slaves to Wright Square so they could be paraded through the streets. Another myth about the slave trade is that the underground railroad was built under the First African Baptist Church. This is possible because there are air holes in the floors below the church that look like African prayer symbols. These stories, like most of Savannah’s tunnel history, are ambiguous and unconfirmed.
The yellow fever epidemic of 1876 is one of Savannah’s most famous legends. Many believe that yellow fever was killing so many people at Candler Hospital that tunnels were constructed under Forsyth Park in order to conceal the bodies and stop mass panic. The tunnel runs under Drayton Street from the former Candler Hospital. However, it was built in 1884, eighteen years after the outbreak. The tunnel’s true purpose was to transport the “deadhouse,” or morgue, from the building to the underground. There are many mysterious underground tunnels and cellars throughout the city. However, most of their history has been lost to time and investigations lead to metaphorical and literal dead ends. These stories remain captivating and are a big part of Savannah’s mystery.
