EXPLORE ISLE OF HOPE’S GEOGRAPHY
Beginning in 1752, less than twenty years after its first settlement, Isle of Hope landmarks and the island itself began to appear in maps of the day. Some were surveys of large expanses of land, such as maps of the State of Georgia, with Isle of Hope being a minor feature and sometimes merely designated with a dot. Others were lot-level maps of Isle of Hope land with great detail about specific properties. Between these extremes were maps that depicted the entire island or its major portions.
Each map reveals important information, including property owners and property lines, locations of roads, railroads, and ferries, as well as topography and growth patterns. The selection below includes some of the best examples of Isle of Hope maps. Several of the maps are never-before-seen compilations of other maps. Others are magnified detail of the Isle of Hope portions of much larger maps. We will continue to add old and new maps of the island for you to zoom and explore.
1752 1st Map Identifying Isle of Hope Landmarks
Sixteen years after the founding of Isle of Hope, cartographer William DeBrahm identified the settlements of “Cap: Jones” and “Henry Parker Esq: President” on his topographic map of the coast of Georgia. He did...
1780 1st Map Identifying “Isle of Hope”
This is detail from the earliest map that identifies Isle of Hope. The larger map, by renowned cartographer Joseph Frederick Wallet DesBarres (1722-1824), shows the Atlantic Coast from St. Catherine’s Island in the...
1780 Revolutionary War Isle of Hope
This beautiful, hand-colored map shows Isle of Hope at the time of the Revolutionary War. In 1778, the British under Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell invaded Georgia and captured Savannah and Augusta. In...
1810 “Wamberly”
This checkerboard map by Isidore Stouf shows the first subdivision of Wymberley and the beginnings of the Bluff Drive properties as we know them today. From 1736 until 1810, the first three generations after Isle...
1824 “Ila of Hope”
This map is based on a tracing of the resurvey map by John McKinnon as described in its transcribed map legend. The colored boundary lines noted in the legend have been added from the original map. As...
1846 Map of Northern Isle of Hope
This map is an 1881 tracing of an 1846 map which showed the division of Dr. William Parker’s large land holdings on northern Isle of Hope. Dr. Parker was the grandson of Henry and Ann Parker, the original settlers...
1865 Civil War Isle of Hope
This composite of two maps produced at the end of the Civil War shows most of the Confederate earthworks constructed during the war, as well as the bridge and causeways connecting Isle of Hope with Skidaway Island,...
1875 1st Map Showing Railroad
This map gives a glimpse of Isle of Hope just after the Civil War. Savannah mapmaker Charles Platen worked several years to create a topographical map of all of Chatham County, relying on 37 original deeds, maps,...
Isle of Hope and Vicinity circa 1890
This map is condensed from the topographic survey map of Chatham County completed by county engineer, Richard Blandford. It documents in detail topographic features such as dams, canals and earthworks, including...
1895 The Grimball Point Property of Cyrenius Hall
This map relates to 116 acres on northern Isle of Hope owned by Cyrenius Hall, Isle of Hope’s greatest artist, whose portrait of Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce Indian tribe hangs in the National Portrait Gallery...
1901 Roads and Streetcar Lines From Savannah to Isle of Hope
In 1901, the Savannah Morning News commissioned civil engineer Percy Sugden to prepare a map of Chatham County. The purpose of the map was to spotlight the many advantages Chatham County presented to prospective...
1908 Great Savannah Race Course
In 1908, the Savannah Automobile Club, with several Isle of Hope representatives on its Executive Committee, hosted the annual championship races of the Automobile Club of America. The Grand Prize race, whose...
1908 Wormsloe
Civil engineer W.O.D. Rockwell’s map provides a detailed plan of the Wormsloe plantation and surrounding areas at the outset of the twentieth century. Landmarks at Wormsloe depicted include the long entrance...
1916 Barbee’s and Bluff Buildings
This 1916 Sanborn Fire Insurance Company map provides amazing detail of Isle of Hope's Bluff area from just over a hundred years ago. Beginning in 1867, Sanborn created maps for thousands of cities across the...
1930 Tourist Map from Downtown Savannah to Wormsloe Gardens
Illustrated in 1930 by Charleston cartographer Augustine Thomas Smythe Stoney, this map provides a pictorial annotated guide to two scenic drives from Savannah’s urban center to Wormsloe Plantation on Isle of...
1942 WW II Aerial Photograph
This wartime photograph, labeled “SECRET”, provides a spy plane’s view of Isle of Hope. While there is no residential development in Wymberley or Paxton Heights in 1942, there is cleared land on north Isle of Hope...
1947 “Wymberley” Map
This map shows James Richmond’s vision for his subdivision "Wymberley" and was included as a centerfold in the sales brochure for the development. The layout of the subdivision as built differs slightly from this...