Savannah, Georgia is haunted. No one who has ever visited the city could say otherwise. Savannah isn’t so much a geographical destination as it is a warp into the American South’s past. The streets are lined with historic buildings, and public squares bear statues commemorating figures both heroic and, well, less so. The city is often listed as the most haunted in America, and while it doesn’t have a famed haunted winery, for many tourists, ghost hunters, and Savannah residents, these ghosts are a very real presence. But it might be more apt to say that the ghosts that haunt the city are the structures that hold its history, reminding each and every visitor of the many lives, and deaths, that played out right where they stand.
Nowhere is this past more acutely felt than in the city’s beloved Olde Pink House. The mansion, which now functions as a restaurant, is located right off of Reynolds Square, near the Lucas Theater. One of the oldest buildings in the city, The Olde Pink House is a landmark. Built in 1771 before the American Revolution, the house is famous for its rich legacy, which touches on both the Civil and Revolutionary Wars, and one infamous Savannah resident-turned-murder suspect. Despite this storied pedigree, what the house is most famous for is its eponymous color. However, The Olde Pink House didn’t start out pink. In fact, its color is a result of some faulty red bricks and insufficient white plaster. For centuries, the pink was covered by layers of white paint. But, as history is wont to do, the truth — and its pink hue — will out.
The iconic pink house that started out white
The history of The Olde Pink House starts with one man: James Habersham Jr. Habersham was born in Savannah in 1745, the son of a prominent importer in the city. After attending Princeton, he followed in his father’s footsteps and entered into the trading business. In particular, Habersham worked in the slave trade, a prominent aspect of Savannah’s economy during the 1700s. Many of the enslaved people Habersham imported were sent to work at his family’s rice plantation. Habersham began construction on the house in 1771 on land that was granted to him by the British Crown. The house was made with red bricks and covered in white plaster to pristine effect. However, soon the color from the red bricks began to seep into the plaster, turning it a pink color, much to Habersham’s horror. To cover this stain, Habersham had the house repainted white.
For over a century, even as the house passed from the Habersham family and into other hands, the Habersham House was continually painted white to cover the rosy bleeding bricks. That is, until the 1930s, when the house was sold to Alida Harper Fowlkes, a native-born Savannahian who built a reputation on restoring Savannah landmarks. Instead of once again whitewashing the house, Fowlkes instead chose to embrace the house’s rosy hue by painting it pink. This is how The Olde Pink House has remained for nearly a century.
The many famous residents of Olde Pink House
Then again, The Olde Pink House’s pink hue is perhaps the least colorful part of its origin story. The house has withstood many violent churns in its city’s history. It bore witness to budding businesses, Civil War toil, and even played a small part in the life of one of the city’s most infamous residents. After The Olde Pink House on Abercorn Street first got its start as the Habersham home in 1771, the house was one of the few buildings to survive the Savannah Fire of 1796. The house left the family after James Habersham Jr.’s death in 1799, becoming the home of Georgia’s first bank, known as Planters Bank, in 1812.
In 1864, during the Civil War, Union officers took control of the property, using it to house soldiers. After the Civil War, the Habersham House was turned over to new owners several times, functioning as a bookstore and an office for a local attorney. In the 1930s, Alida Harper Fowlkes bought the mansion and gave it its famous, inevitable pink color. While in possession of it, Fowlkes opened first a weaving shop then a successful tearoom for guests. The house changed hands again in the 1950s, when it was sold to Jim Williams, who briefly held the property for restoration before ultimately selling the house. Williams would later become the subject of John Berendt’s bestselling true crime book “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil,” a story that captures the haunted, history-laden landscape of Savannah and the one murder that shook the city.
Serving up Southern history
When Jim Williams sold the mansion in the 1970s, it was bought by Herschel McCallar and Jeffrey Keith, the two owners who finally transformed The Olde Pink House into a restaurant. In 1992, the house was acquired by William and Elizabeth Balish, who would continue to operate the residency as a restaurant. Eventually their daughter, Donna Moeckel, took over the business. Moeckel still owns the Olde Pink House, which is now one of the most famed landmarks in the city. The restaurant is considered a must-visit location for tourists hoping to get a taste of the city’s rich history.
Every day The Olde Pink House serves up food that pays homage to Savannah’s culture and the many influences that combine to form its unique identity. The menu is replete with foods such as fried green tomatoes, shrimp cocktail, pickled watermelon, blackened oysters, and African American inspired soul food staples such as collard greens. Each of these dishes incorporates the heritage of Savannah, from its history as a port city, bringing in products from around the world, to its status as a hub in the slave trade in the American South. In an interview with Savannah Magazine, the restaurant’s general manager, Craig Jeffress noted that, “The very story we tell through our food is one of survival.” So, through food, it seems that a fuller view of Savannah has finally come to the surface in that perfectly pink house on Abercorn Street. Through keen preservation and a thoughtfully prepared menu, the ghosts of Savannah live on.
