The city's original name was "Rudd's Ferry", named for James Rudd, an early settler who established a ferry at the site in the early 1820s. Rudd's Ferry was later purchased by a wealthy landowner, David Robinson. The city was renamed "Savannah" after Savannah, Georgia, the hometown of Rudd's wife, Elizabeth.
Hardin County was the site of the 1862 Battle of Shiloh during the Civil War. The battleground site is southwest of the city of Savannah. Union General Ulysses S. Grant commandeered the Cherry Mansion just off the city square for use as a headquarters during the battle.
Savannah is located just west of the center of Hardin County at , on the east bank of the Tennessee River. U.S. Route 64 passes through the center of town on Bridge Avenue, Main Street, and Wayne Road. US 64 leads east to Waynesboro and west to Selmer. Tennessee State Route 69 leads southeast to the Alabama border. Florence, Alabama, is southeast of Savannah via SR 69 and Alabama State Route 20. According to the United States Census Bureau, Savannah has a total area of, all of it recorded as land.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 6,917 people, 2,915 households, and 1,862 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,207.5 people per square mile. There were 3,206 housing units at an average density of 559.7 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 89.79% White, 8.56% African American, 0.22% Native American, 0.29% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.35% from other races, and 0.78% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.13% of the population. There were 2,915 households out of which 27.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.3% were married couples living together, 15.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.1% were non-families. 32.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.83. In the city, the population was spread out with 22.4% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 24.3% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 20.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.7 males. The median income for a household in the city was $22,779, and the median income for a family was $29,771. Males had a median income of $26,311 versus $20,219 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,101. About 20.7% of families and 23.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.4% of those under age 18 and 16.5% of those age 65 or over.
Notable people
John Barnhill, football player, coach, and collegiate athletics administrator
