The Story of Ft. McAllister!

As early as 3000 B.C., Native Americans inhabited the land that would become Ft. McAllister, in Richmond Hill, Georgia (just south of Savannah.) The area also became home to Spaniards, who set up missions along the Georgia coast.



Centuries later, Ft McAllister was built on Genesis
Point, part of Strathy Hall Plantation The site was offered by the plantation owner one Joseph L. McAllister, and named in his honor.
 

The sand and mud constructed fort was attacked unsuccessfully seven times by Union ironclad ships during the Civil War. The damage to the fort from naval shells is quickly and easily repaired due to its earthen, rather than brick, fortifications. Ft. McAllister finally fell in 1864 by Gen. William T. Sherman during his famous "March to the Sea."  The fort was not designed to protect from a ground assault, and was captured only 15 minutes after Sherman launched a rear attack.

Following the Civil War, nature reclaimed the land at Genesis Point and the remains of Fort McAllister were forgotten. In the 1930s then owner, Henry Ford, began restoring the  earthwork fortification. Before restoration was complete, the area passed to the International Paper Company, which deeded it to the State of Georgia. The site opened to the public in 1963, one hundred years after the great bombardment by the Union ironclads.

Nestled among giant live oaks and beautiful salt marsh, this park is a quiet location for camping, hiking, fishing and picnicking. The park’s Civil War museum features an interior designed to resemble a bombproof, containing exhibits and artifacts, a video and gift shop. New cottages sit on stilts at the marsh edge, surrounded by palm trees and palmettos.

A Virtual tour of Ft. McAllister!