The Pirates' House

History

Pirate's House Entrance

SAVANNAH, Ga. (Crime Library) — It's called The Pirates' House, but the name has nothing to do with the recent success of the trio of Disney movies in which actor Johnny Depp plays Captain Jack Sparrow, a spaced out, dangerous, clever, and ultimately extremely likeable swashbuckling pirate.

Back Wall

The Pirates' House restaurant at 20 East Broad Street in the seafaring city of Savannah got its name the old fashioned way—by earning it.

Built in 1734, the original structure, now called the Herb House, still stands within the confines of the rambling two-story building that has become known as The Pirates' House, believed to be the oldest building in the state of Georgia.

Originally used for a ten-acre experimental botanical garden, the site was converted in 1753 into a tavern and inn catering to the hard-drinking seaman whose ships called at the nearby Port of Savannah, a bustling hub of international commerce and trade.

Old Posrt of Savannah

With that international trade, though, came international thievery, especially the seaborne kind, and those who specialized in seaborne thievery—known more popularly as pirates—also took to spending their spare time drinking and carousing at the tavern.

Crime Library Video: History of the Pirate House

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1. The Pirates' House Restaurant
2. A Pirate's Life
3. Shanghaied in Savannah
4. Murder, Mayhem, and the Spirits of the Dead
5. Real or Imagined?