Characters
Who will you meet aboard our trolley?
Hover over an image to learn more about our characters.
Considered our founding father, Oglethorpe’s keen sense of social injustice led him to establish the Colony of Georgia, and, along with it, Savannah – America’s first planned city. Oglethorpe was a skilled negotiator and diplomat, as well as a renowned military strategist and urban planner.
James Oglethorpe
The fictional character of Forrest Gump, portrayed by Tom Hanks, has become an icon in the city of Savannah – beloved by locals and visitors alike. Forrest has been entertaining guests of Old Savannah Tours for years – see if you can spot him running around town!
Forrest Gump
Representatives of the local Gullah Geechee Culture tell how ex-slaves came to inhabit the local islands off the Georgia coast, and discuss their contributions to the development of Southern cuisine. They share fascinating customs and traditions, and may even teach guests a few words or songs from the Gullah culture.
Dessa the Gullah Woman
Grave Encounters: Alice Riley was an indentured servant who came to Savannah in 1733. Apprenticed to a notoriously cruel master, she eventually snapped one day and killed him. Alice pleaded pregnancy and was given leniency – for nine months – before her baby was born and she was hanged for her crime.
Alice Riley
George Leile was born a slave in Virginia. He traveled up and down the East Coast with his devoutly religious master, preaching the Word of God to other slaves. After being freed, George settled in Savannah & continued preaching. His congregation became the First African Baptist Church - an important stop on the Underground Railroad.
Rev. George Leile
This mystical figure played a prominent role in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, helping Jim Williams through his criminal trials. Minerva the Voodoo Queen was a real person - an innocuous grandmotherly woman named Valerie Bowles - but in reality, she wielded power and influence with the unseen .
Minerva
Two Savannah brothers caught in the middle of a family divided – Adam and his father were staunch supporters of Lincoln, and Able and his mother were loyal to the Confederate cause. Their political differences boiled over into an actual brawl in their backyard – with disastrous results for both brothers.
Adam Clayton
Fanny was a renowned British actress who married Pierce Butler, one of the largest slaveholders in the American south. Unable to bear witness to the atrocities of slavery, she left her luxurious life - and her children - returning to the stage and donating her income to the abolitionist cause. She wrote America's Unlikely Abolitionist about her time on Butler plantation.
Fanny Kemble
Representatives of the local Gullah Geechee Culture tell how ex-slaves came to inhabit the local islands off the Georgia coast, and discuss their contributions to the development of Southern cuisine. They share fascinating customs and traditions, and may even teach guests a few words or songs from the Gullah culture.
Tokey the Gullah Man
The first African American woman to teach openly in Georgia, Susie King Taylor also published a memoir of her experiences with the 33rd United States Colored Troops during the Civil War. In her youth, she attended local “clandestine” schools in Savannah, where she learned to read and write, and after the war she chose to extend that gift to others - opening the first school for newly freed slave children.
Suzie Taylor King
Jim Williams was a wealthy antiques dealer and historical preservationist. He had it all – money, connections, power – until he shot (and perhaps murdered) his young and unruly lover. He was tried for his crime 4 times and eventually acquitted, but his story became the foundation for the international best-selling novel Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.
Jim Williams
Mistress of the Owens-Thomas House, Sarah was no simple southern belle. She was a unique combination of socialite, mother, wife and businesswoman. She raised six children while managing the family’s large estates and land holdings.
Sarah Wallace Owens
Lucky Joe was a member of the Mighty Eighth Air Force during WWII. Serving in Europe as a tail gunner, his section of a B-17 plane was severed from the fuselage. Jones fell 13,500 feet into a Belgian cow pasture, somehow suffering no injuries other than a lacerated tongue. His amazing survival secured him a place in the Guinness Book of World Records and mentions by Ripley’s Believe it or Not.
Lucky Joe Jones
Susanna Belmont appears on our Grave Encounters tour to tell tales of Savannah's haunted past.
Susanna Belmont
The Dead Soldier appears on our Grave Encounters tour to tell tales of Savannah's haunted past.
Dead Soldier
Savannah’s “Waving Girl,” Florence Martus, lived on Elba Island with her brother, the lighthouse keeper. Local lore says that she was waiting on a lost love to return, but, whatever the reason, Florence waved at nearly every ship coming into the port of Savannah for over 40 years, gaining international fame for her efforts. To this day ships entering our city blow their horns in honor of her memory while passing her statue on River Street.
Florence Martus
Known as “the Countess,” the extravagant and fashionable Julia Scarborough was married to the President of the Savannah Steamship Company, the firm responsible for the Steamship Savannah, the very first vessel of its kind to cross the Atlantic. Julia hosted President James Monroe at her home when he came to Savannah to witness the ship departing on its maiden voyage.
Julia Scarbrough
Born into wealth as a member of the Moxley Douglas family, Matilda Sorrel was a member of Savannah’s high society and the second wife of Francis Sorrel, a wealthy merchant with a colorful background of his own. Matilda was known for her lavish parties and her elaborate fashion sense – and for her dramatic death.
Matilda Sorrel
Grave Encounters: No longer the exuberant socialite of our daytime tours, the ghost of Matilda Sorrel explains her tragic backstory – a cheating husband, an unfaithful maid, a high society party – and her dramatic suicide – followed by her maid’s. But was it suicide, or something darker?
Ghost of Matilda Sorrel
The founder of the Girl Scouts (as well as a skilled sculptor and painter), Juliette Gordon Low was born into a wealthy family in Savannah. Inspired by British “Girl Guides,” Juliette brought the concept to America, starting the first troop of girls.
Juliette Gordon Lowe
Representing many different types of women in Savannah, our Rosies share stories of their personal involvement in WWII, as welders and painters working to build Liberty Ships. They also discuss the Mighty Eighth Air Force and its contributions to the war.