From Savannah's founding in 1733, the lands of Green Palm Inn were settlers' farmland gardens where rice was the primary crop raised for survival during early colonization of the British colony of Georgia. Bethesda Gate was the colonial-era entrance to the city proper along the eastern palisades (fort boundaries) of King Street (now President Street). The fort wall was located approximately in the vicinity of today's Drayton Street, as recorded on a map entitled "Savanna Town in Georgia."

"King Street" (named to honor of King George II of England) was renamed "President Street" in May 1801. Following the American Revolution many streets with names like "Duke" (now "York") and "Prince" were renamed to reflect American liberty from the royal rule of England. The street north of the inn is State Street and was formerly "Prince Street."

Like its namesake of green palms in Savannah's historic landscapes, the Inn takes its place in the tapestry of the "Forest City." In a volume entitled "Historic and Picturesque Savannah," dated 1889, an illustration of the "Palmetto" points to the palm tree, noteworthy of its place in Savannah history before the turn of the century.

The décor of Green Palm Inn is British Colonial with accents of palm trees.

Green Palm Inn is located in a residential section of Savannah's famed Historic District, just steps away from charming Greene Square. Originally constructed in 1897 and completely renovated in 1998, the Inn contains a mixture of luxurious guest rooms and suites, each with a single king or queen poster bed or sleigh bed, private bath, color TV with full cable, ceiling fan, central heat and air, and in-room phone. Several have working fireplaces.

The British-Colonial furnishings reflect upon both Savannah's British roots and its subtropical ambiance. The Inn creates a friendly and casual atmosphere for all guests - and received a "special recommendation" in Fodor's 2002 Edition of "The Carolinas and Georgia.

While the 1898 Mayor's report records 375 feet of President Street (from Jefferson to Barnard) were paved, insurance records show in 1898 show that President Street in the 500 block was "not paved." However, from the east side of Bull Street to the west side of Drayton Street, asphalt paving was authorized in 1897. The Mayor's report states a street railway ran between Montgomery and West Broad on President Street. It was the Ordinance of April 7, 1897, that proposed that South Broad Street be renamed Oglethorpe Avenue "in memory of the distinguished founder of the colony of Georgia." Passenger vehicles for hire in the city were authorized to charge as much as fifty cents (50c) to transport a passenger to and from the wharfs of East Broad Street and West Broad Street.

• The Clerk of the Market is to be the inspector of meats, fish, provisions, fruits and vegetables.
• Hacks and other vehicles for hire are to use lights when on the streets of Savannah at night. Identifying numbers were painted on their lamps.
• Trucks, drays and wagons are prohibited from using Bull Street. There is a $10 fine and imprisonment not to exceed 10 days.
• Anyone using a velocipede, tricycle, bicycle or similar vehicle may not travel greater than 10MPH.
• The Keeper of the Powder Magazine is to own, at his own expense, 4 pairs of woolen socks to be worn inside the magazine.

The status of the Savannah Theatre (America's oldest continual theater in operation, once known as the Atheneum) is reported in 1897: "The house had electric illumination and there were 6 members of the house orchestra. Savannah's 1897 population was 65,000. The theatre was remodeled in 1895." Rail travel was popular in 1897 and brought entertainers to town.

The Savannah College of Art and Design's "Virtual Historic Savannah Project" reports: "Prior to 1897 all the buildings in Savannah had a different address. The addresses on the east-west streets did not follow the East-West address format. For these streets the addresses began on East Broad and increased in number as they went westwards. It was in November 1896, that the East-west system was introduced."

In 1897, P.W. Meldrim was Mayor. He was Superior Court Judge of the Savannah District and former state representative. He purchased the land later to be named "Meldrim, Georgia" in Effingham County for $340. In 1892, Judge Peter Meldrim purchased the Green-Meldrim House and lived in the home a number of decades. In 1943, his heirs sold the house to the St. John's Episcopal Church, which is located next door. In 2009, thanks in part to the $400,000 Save America's Treasures grant, the Green-Meldrim House is being restored. The home's amazing past includes a brief residency by General Sherman during the time Union Troops occupied Savannah during the Civil War (1864-1865). As an English subject, Mr. Green required that Sherman pay rent during the time he occupied the elegant Gothic-style home.

On the evening of January 12, 1865, Sherman and Secretary of War Edwin Stanton meet at the Green House with 20 African-American leaders, most of them newly freed from slavery. The conference came amid charges that Union forces had mistreated African-Americans who followed Sherman's army during its march from Atlanta to Savannah. A short time later, Sherman issues his "40 acres and a mule" order, which freed southern slaves. The order is thought to have been signed in the upstairs in this house.

Judge Meldrim was ex officio President Board of Commissioners Colored Industrial College, which may explain President McKinley's visit in December 18, 1898. [Mrs. P. W. Meldrim was regent of the Colonial Dames, of Georgia. Mrs. W. W. Gordon was President.) William Howard Russell, a Civil War correspondent for the London Times, described it in 1861 as among the best of a number of Savannah houses that had a "New York Fifth Avenue character."

A building that slightly resembles a castle, The Savannah Powder Magazine (on Ogeechee Road) was built in 1898 and used until 1963 for storing explosive powder, artillery ammunition, and eventually dynamite. It was built when P.W. Meldrim was mayor. The building was designed by Savannah architects, Alfred Eichberg and Hyman Witcover, who are credited separately with Savannah buildings including: City Hall, SCAD's Eichberg Hall, Telfair Hospital, and the Scottish Rite Temple. With a gothic design, The Savannah Powder Magazine is the only municipal powder magazine known in Georgia. No other similar historic structures exist anywhere in the state outside of military installations, such as Fort Pulaski or Fort Jackson.

Chairman of Council was Samuel P. Hamilton, who owned the Brush Electric Light Company. His company charged the city a reduced rate of $72 per light per annum (from a former $90 per light per annum) for public city lighting. It was Hamilton who built Hamilton Mansion on Lafayette Square. William L. Grayson (for whom Grayson Stadium was named) was Fire Commission Chairman. W. W. Gordon Jr., -- a lawyer of Savannah, graduate of Yale, and major in the Georgia militia -- was Secretary of Park and Tree. He was brother to Juliette Gordon Low, founder of Girl Scouts.

On December 18, 1898, President William McKinley gave a speech at the Georgia Agricultural and Mechanical College in Savannah, a college for African-Americans learning new skills (now Savannah State University). He encouraged education and not to forget the home. "The home is the foundation of good individual life and of good government. Cultivate good homes, make them pure and sweet, elevate them, and other good things will follow…. I leave with you one word: Keep on…."

• 1886 FIRST building in the United States built over a public street. (Cotton Exchange on Factors Walk)
• 1886 Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences: The FIRST art museum in the Southeast. Formerly it was built as the "town villa" for the Telfair family during Savannah's social season. When the museum opened in May 1886, Jefferson Davis was among the dignitaries who attended.
• Circa 1900 FIRST Public Health Agency established in Savannah, GA.
• 1911 FIRST Motorized Fire Department in the United States.
• March 12, 1912 FIRST Girl Scouts of America founded in Savannah, GA, by Juliette Gordon Low.
• Registered March 12, 1912 MARGARET DAISY GORDON (Niece of Juliette Low) was the first registered Girl Guide in the United States (in Savannah, GA). (The name "Girl Guides" was changed to "Girl Scouts" in 1913.)
• 1993 FIRST City to introduce a Computerized Reservation System available to 290,000 travel agency computer terminals throughout the world