A stroll down River Street in Savannah offers visitors a wide variety of dining options and views of larger-than-life ships as they enter the city.
If you find yourself waving as the ships pass by, you are following a tradition from one of the many legendary inhabitants of Savannah, one of the oldest cities in the South. The Waving Girl has been commemorated in a statue on River Street, and is based on a seemingly real person.
The legend of Florence Martus
Florence Martus (1868 – 1943), was known to Savannahs and sailors of the sea as the Girl Saluting. The daughter of a sergeant stationed at Fort Pulaski, Florence later moved into a riverside cabin near the harbor entrance with her brother George, when she was transferred from the Cockspur Island Lighthouse to the Elba Island Lighthouse.
As the story goes, life in the remote cabin was lonely for Florence, whose closest companion was her devoted collie. At a young age, he developed a close affinity with passing ships and welcomed each one with a wave of his handkerchief. The sailors began to return his salute by returning the salute or with the sound of the ship’s horn. Finally, Florence began to greet the ships arriving in the dark by waving a flashlight.
Florence Martus continued her undulating tradition for 44 years and is estimated to have received more than 50,000 ships in her lifetime. There are many unsubstantiated speculations that Florence fell in love with a sailor who never returned to Savannah. The facts, however, as to why she started and continued the undulating tradition for so many years remain a mystery.
In any case, Florence Martus became a Savannah legend, known everywhere. On September 27, 1943, the SS Florence Martus, a Liberty ship, was christened in her honor. According to the Georgia Historical Society, it was the “thirty-eighty-eight liberty ships built in Savannah,” and was eventually scrapped in Baltimore.
Florence rests with her brother at Laurel Grove Cemetery in Savannah. The inscription on the tombstone echoes admiration for his service to the port and its visitors.
In memory of the waving girl and her brother
Lighthouse keepers on Elba Island, Savannah River for 35 years.
The statue of the girl waving
The statue that stands today in Savannah Harbor was created by famous sculptor Felix De Weldon, the sculptor for the United States Marine Corps Memorial in Arlington, Virginia (also known as the Iwo Jima Memorial).
It represents Florence with her faithful collie. The statue can be found at the eastern end of River Street, overlooking the Savannah River from the cliff.
Legend has it that the captain of the ship that brought the statue to Savannah had such fond memories of Florence that he refused payment.
The Savannah City-run ferry service was named the Savannah Belles Ferry to honor Florence and four other notable Savannah women.
