Abandoned well discovered under Savannah farmer’s market site

SAVANNAH, Tenn. — While preparing the empty lot on the corner of Main Street and Williams Street in downtown Savannah, construction workers found an abandoned well.

John Ross, who lives down the street and owns the law office next door, describes the day.

“So I came and looked, and I stuck my phone over it and made some pictures and put them on Facebook,” Ross said.

He said the well is on the property of an old saloon, hotel and most recently a gift shop, which burned down several years ago. “It’s an architectural monument. I mean, the brick work done in it is really done well. It’s extremely well-preserved and just part of history,” he said.

However, city leaders like Interim City Manager Tom Smith are now faced with the problem of what to do with it.

“I know everybody would like to save the well, but then you have the other side of it that I get, that they’re concerned about the safety aspects, so I get it from both sides,” Smith said.

The well, which was discovered a few weeks ago, is 30 feet deep and three feet wide. It’s covered right now for safety reasons. It’s on the site of the future farmer’s market, and city leaders are debating whether to fill it in or showcase it.

“We can do it either way. If we fill it, there’s a certain way you have to fill it, or preserve it. The main thing in preserving it is safety,” Smith said.

If the well is preserved, engineers may also have to rethink the design of the farmer’s market. “I’ve asked the engineers to look into trying to preserve it if we can,” Smith said.

“I think it would be an attraction for the farmer’s market. People would come here and look at it, and, you know, it would help keep people in Savannah,” Ross said.

City leaders also say potential designs for preserving the well include building a retaining wall into it and enclosing it in a glass case.