Haunted 17Hundred90 Inn

Savannah has a way of making time feel thin. One minute the city is all gaslight glow and cobblestone rhythm, the next it feels like the past is standing close enough to fog a window. At the 17Hundred90 Inn, that sensation is especially hard to shrug off. The building sits quietly along East President Street, worn smooth by centuries of footsteps, its brick and timber holding the kind of hush that is not quite silence. Even in the middle of a lively evening, there is often a moment when the air seems to pause, as if someone else is listening too.

Visitors come for the history, the atmosphere, and the food and drink that make Savannah nights feel indulgent and old-fashioned. Many also come for a name that floats around this place like perfume that never fully fades, Anna. Her story is told and retold, sometimes carefully, sometimes carelessly, and that matters, because Savannah’s haunted reputation is at its best when it stays tethered to what can be reasonably supported. The 17Hundred90 Inn has plenty of legitimate age, legitimate mystery, and a long record of guest experiences that have become part of its modern identity. It does not need exaggeration. It needs only a close look, and Savannah rewards close looks.

This is a place where the city’s layered timeline, colonial ambition, booming port wealth, devastating fire, and elegant reinvention all overlap in one compact stretch of street. To understand why so many people swear they have felt a presence here, it helps to begin where Savannah always begins, with the plan, the squares, and the human impulse to build permanence in a landscape that keeps changing.

Columbia Square and the world that grew around it

Savannah’s Historic District is famous for its squares, not because they are merely pretty, but because they were designed as civic breathing spaces, small green rooms where daily life could unfold within a larger structure. The wards-and-squares plan gave the city a rhythm, one that still shapes how visitors move through downtown today. Each square became its own pocket of memory, surrounded by homes, churches, businesses, and the evidence of who had power at the time.

Columbia Square is one of the later squares in the historic grid, laid out at the end of the eighteenth century, when the young United States was still defining itself. Its very name gestures toward national identity, and for Savannah it marked a growing confidence, a city stretching and refining its elegance. The square sits within a neighborhood that feels distinctly historic even by Savannah standards, with a concentration of architecture that invites slow walking and upward-looking.

What makes Columbia Square especially relevant to the 17Hundred90 Inn is proximity and continuity. This part of East President Street carries the layered feel of a district that has been inhabited, rebuilt, renovated, subdivided, expanded, and repurposed again and again. Just a short stroll away, the Kehoe House rises with its own unmistakable presence, a later-era showpiece that reflects the wealth and style of Savannah’s Gilded Age tastes. Nearby, the Isaiah Davenport House, now preserved as a museum, offers a rare, grounded look at early nineteenth-century Savannah life and labor, the kind of place that makes the era feel human rather than decorative.

Taken together, these landmarks turn the area into a living cross-section of Savannah history. It is the kind of neighborhood where it is easy to imagine voices carried through open windows, carriage wheels striking stone, and candlelight flickering against plaster walls. It is also the kind of neighborhood where tragedy, illness, and sudden disaster were not abstract possibilities, but frequent realities.

The shadow of the 1820 fire

Savannah’s Great Fire of 1820 remains one of the most significant events in the city’s early history. It was not a small blaze, it was a sweeping catastrophe that destroyed hundreds of buildings and reshaped the city’s core. Fires were a constant fear in early American cities, especially in places where wood structures, close spacing, and open flames for light and heat were the norm. In Savannah, the 1820 fire burned through the business heart of town with a severity that was remembered for generations.

For buildings and basements that may incorporate older material, the fire becomes part of the story even when the exact boundaries of damage vary by block and ward. This matters for a place like the 17Hundred90 Inn because parts of its structure are associated with different periods of construction, including older ground-level elements that are often discussed in relation to earlier structures on or near the site. In Savannah, “old” is rarely one clean date. It is a collage, built from what survived, what was rebuilt, and what was reused.

That layered construction history is one of the reasons historic inns feel so alive. People are not only sleeping in a room, they are sleeping inside a timeline.

The 17Hundred90 Inn, a building made of multiple lives

Despite the name, the 17Hundred90 Inn’s story is more complex than a single year stamped on a sign. The property is widely described as having been formed from what were originally separate residences, later combined and adapted into the inn and restaurant people know today. Portions of the structure are tied to the early 1800s, with later additions in the late nineteenth century. That kind of incremental growth is typical in Savannah, where buildings were often expanded as families changed, fortunes rose or fell, and the city’s economy shifted.

It is worth pausing here, because this is where myth can creep in. A date like “1790” sounds clean and simple, and it is easy for marketing language, even well-intended, to compress a complicated building history into a single headline. The better story is the real one: a property that contains multiple eras in its bones. That is more interesting than a tidy label, and it is more believable.

From a visitor’s perspective, the physical experience of the inn reinforces that complexity. The rooms do not feel like identical hotel boxes. They feel like spaces that used to be something else, which is exactly what they were. Staircases, angles, and transitions hint at a structure that has been reimagined more than once. Even for guests who are not looking for the paranormal, the inn gives off that “old house” sensation: warmth, creaks, and a sense that the building has moods.

Downstairs, the tavern and dining spaces add another layer, because public rooms collect stories faster than private ones. Over time, thousands of conversations, celebrations, arguments, and late-night confessions have filled the air. Places that serve food and drink are memory magnets. In Savannah, where storytelling is practically a civic pastime, those memories do not stay neatly contained.

Ghosts and legends, what people say they experience here

Savannah’s haunted lore is rich, but not all of it is equal. Some stories are rooted in documented tragedy, some are folkloric, and some are stitched together from repeated guest experiences that are sincere even when they cannot be proven in a strict historical sense. The 17Hundred90 Inn sits at an intersection of all three, which is why it remains one of the most discussed “haunted” places in Savannah.

The most famous figure associated with the inn is often called Anna, sometimes Anne in retellings. The story tends to orbit one focal point: Room 204.

Room 204 and the legend of Anna

Room 204 is regularly described as the inn’s most haunted room, and it has become a kind of pilgrimage stop for paranormal-curious travelers. The reports that circulate are notable for how consistent they are over time, even though each guest tells the experience differently.

Common themes include:

• Items being moved, especially jewelry, clothing, or small personal belongings

• The sensation of a tug at bedding, a nudge, or a light touch when no one else is present

• Unexplained sounds, often described as footsteps or soft movement in the room

• A feeling of being watched, not always threatening, but undeniably present

These are classic “friendly trickster” haunting motifs, and that can make skeptics roll their eyes. Still, the persistence of similar accounts, especially those shared by guests who did not arrive expecting anything, is part of what keeps the story alive. The inn itself has leaned into the legend over the years, not as a carnival act, but as part of its identity in a city where history and haunting are often intertwined.

The harder question is: who is Anna, really?

Here, the story becomes less stable. Different versions circulate. In the most commonly repeated framework, Anna is connected to the Powers family name, which is associated with a later portion of the building’s development. The legend often frames her as a young woman caught in an intense romantic situation, sometimes involving a sailor. In some tellings she dies by falling or jumping from a window. In others, the death is darker, implying foul play or a push.

The responsible way to handle this is to treat the personal details as legend unless they can be confirmed through clear historical documentation. What can be said, groundedly, is this: the inn’s haunting tradition centers on a female presence, widely known as Anna, associated with Room 204, and guest reports frequently describe playful disruptions rather than violent attacks or sensational horror.

That alone is enough for a compelling story, especially in a city like Savannah where the atmosphere does half the work.

The three-ghost tradition

The 17Hundred90 Inn is also often said to have more than one spirit associated with it. In many retellings, there are at least three distinct presences, with Anna as the best known. The other reported presences are typically described more vaguely: a figure glimpsed in peripheral vision, a heavier footfall in hallways, a sense of someone moving through spaces where no one is visible.

This is where haunted hotels and inns often land, because a multi-era building with multiple functions will naturally gather multiple kinds of stories. A former residence turned into an inn has a different emotional imprint than a building designed only for transient guests. Add decades of public dining and drinking below, and it becomes easy to see why people feel the building has “company.”

From a storytelling standpoint, the most interesting aspect is not the number, but the character of the experiences. The reports at the 17Hundred90 are often not theatrical. They are small. Domestic. Personal. And that is exactly why they stick.

A dramatic Hollywood ghost is easy to dismiss. A missing earring that reappears in an impossible place, or a blanket tug that happens once and never again, is harder to file away neatly, even for people who want to stay rational.

Why this place lends itself to ghost stories

Savannah’s haunted reputation is not only about death and tragedy, it is also about architecture and atmosphere. The 17Hundred90 Inn has several qualities that encourage people to interpret experiences through a paranormal lens:

• Age and irregularity: Older buildings have quirks, unusual drafts, and sound travel that can surprise modern guests.

• Layered construction: Spaces that were once separate structures can create odd transitions, temperature shifts, and acoustic pockets.

• Emotional priming: People often arrive already aware of the legend, which makes them more attentive to small anomalies.

• Nighttime Savannah: The city itself sets the stage. When the streets quiet and the lantern light hits brick, imagination becomes more active.

None of this disproves anyone’s experience. It simply explains why the 17Hundred90 is an ideal environment for stories to form, persist, and grow. The most honest haunting narratives acknowledge both the mystery and the mechanics.

The neighborhood’s haunted gravity

Columbia Square and the surrounding blocks have an unusually high concentration of Savannah’s most iconic historic stops. When travelers plan a haunted weekend, they often end up orbiting this area, sometimes without realizing it. The square’s fountains, brick paths, and surrounding homes form a kind of stage set for the city’s deeper history, including wealth built from port commerce, the realities of enslaved labor, waves of disease, and the constant pressure of coastal weather and fire.

This is also why ghost stories here often feel emotionally heavy. Savannah’s beauty is real, but it is not innocent. The city’s charm sits on top of complicated human lives. When a guest feels a sudden chill in a hallway, or hears a soft step outside a door at 2 a.m., Savannah’s context makes it easy to wonder who might have walked here before.

Nearby properties like the Kehoe House have their own lore, and it is part of the broader haunted-tour ecosystem. But the 17Hundred90 is distinct because it blends intimacy with public space. It is not only a landmark you pass on a tour. It is a place you can inhabit for a night, which makes any strange moment feel personal, as if the city has chosen you for a story.

That is why it remains a frequent topic on Ghost Tours in Savannah, and why it continues to show up in conversations about Haunted Savannah and Haunted Savannah Tours, especially for travelers who want a haunting that feels more like a whispered interruption than a staged performance.

A grounded way to think about “haunting” in Savannah

It can help to reframe what a haunting means in a city like this. Not every “ghost story” needs to be treated as either proven fact or total nonsense. Savannah’s best legends survive because they are plausible in feeling, even when the details are uncertain.

At the 17Hundred90 Inn, the most grounded approach is:

• The building is genuinely old and structurally layered, which creates sensory experiences that feel unusual.

• The inn has a long-standing tradition of guest reports that center on specific types of activity, especially in Room 204.

• The name Anna is deeply embedded in the inn’s modern folklore, and the repeated nature of the reports keeps the story alive.

• The details of Anna’s biography are less stable, and should be presented as legend unless independently verified.

That balance is exactly where a responsible haunted-history story should live. It respects the power of the place without turning it into a tall tale.

For visitors who want that blend of history and atmosphere, this is also why a well-crafted Savannah Ghost Tours experience matters. The best tours, including those led by Destination Ghost Tours, do not rely on manufactured drama. They build a night out of the real city: documented history, carefully handled lore, and the sensations Savannah gives you for free once the sun goes down.

What lingers after the stories

The strangest thing about the 17Hundred90 Inn is not that people claim to experience something. The strangest thing is how easily the building makes those claims feel possible. Savannah has a talent for that. It is a city where the past is not locked behind museum glass. It sits beside you on a bench, it leans out of upstairs windows, it lingers in the smell of old brick after rain.

Maybe that is all a haunting is: history that refuses to become abstract.

Or maybe, in certain rooms, certain hallways, certain quiet corners of a city built to remember, something of a person remains. Not a monster, not a spectacle, just an echo with a personality, a presence with habits, a reminder that the lives lived here were not neat, and the endings were not always gentle.

In a place like this, it is worth asking a simple question, one that is more unsettling than any jump scare: if a building can hold onto stories this tightly, what else do the streets remember, and what might they recognize when you walk by at night?

Visiting 17Hundred90 Inn today

For travelers planning Haunted Savannah Tours, the 17Hundred90 Inn is easy to work into an evening because it sits in the heart of the Historic District, near Columbia Square and within comfortable walking distance of many of Savannah’s most visited locations. Guests who want to lean into the legend often request Room 204 specifically, while others simply enjoy the inn for its historic character and the feeling of being inside old Savannah rather than merely observing it.

A few practical tips can keep the visit enjoyable and respectful:

• Treat the inn as a historic property first: it is not a haunted house attraction, it is a real place with real guests.

• If you want the “Savannah after dark” experience, explore the area around Columbia Square in the evening, when the atmosphere shifts.

• If you are pairing your stay with Ghost Tours in Savannah, choose a tour that prioritizes historically grounded storytelling, not exaggerated claims. Destination Ghost Tours is a strong fit for visitors who want the city’s haunted reputation handled with care and atmosphere.

• Whether you experience anything unusual or not, let the building be what it is: an old Savannah survivor, layered with time, and famous for the way it makes people pay attention.

And if, late at night, you hear a faint step outside your door, or you find a small item moved to a place you swear it could not have reached on its own, Savannah’s best advice is simple: do not panic. Just listen. In this city, the past has always had a voice, and sometimes it chooses to speak softly.