Yamacraw Bluff is a bluff situated on the bank of the Savannah River

Savannah River

The Savannah River is a major river in the southeastern United States, forming most of the border between the states of South Carolina and Georgia. Two tributaries of the Savannah, the Tugaloo River and the Chattooga River, form the northernmost part of the border...

. The bluff is most notable for being the spot upon which General James Edward Oglethorpe landed to settle the colony of Georgia. The bluff was originally inhabited by the Yamacraw

Yamacraw

The Yamacraw were a Native American tribe which settled parts of Georgia, specifically around the future site of the city of Savannah.- History :...

 Indians. A stone marker and statue now adorn the bluff in honor of its historic value.

History

Yamacraw Bluff was first inhabited by a group of Creek Indians which named themselves after the bluff around 1730. Chief Tomochichi

Tomochichi

Tomochichi was a seventeenth century Creek leader and the head chief of a Yamacraw town on the site of present day Savannah, Georgia. He remains a prominent character of early Georgia history...

 was the founder of said tribe. In 1733 General James Oglethorpe and 114 colonists landed on the bluff. The General went on to found Savannah

Savannah, Georgia

Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...

 with the help of the chief and a local translator, Mary Musgrove

Mary Musgrove

Mary Musgrove facilitated in the development of Colonial Georgia and became an important intermediary between Creek Indians and the English colonists. She bridged the gap between two distinctly different societies and became a cultural mediator, who not only translated but counseled those who...

. The Indians eventually left the bluff to merge with a larger inland tribe, only occupying the bluff for under two decades.

Monuments and markers

In 1906 a bench was erected in memorial of General Oglethorpe's landing in the New World

New World

The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...

. The benched stands in the spot were Oglethorpe pitched his tent on his first night after landing on the bluff.

In anticipation of the bicentennial celebration a stone marker was laid on Bay Street. The marker, made in 1933, reads:

"This is Yamacraw Bluff where the Colony of Georgia was founded, February 12, 1733, by General James Edward Oglethorpe. Voted by the Georgia Daughters of the American Revolution - the Most Historic Spot in Georgia."