Isaiah Davenport was born in Little Compton, Rhode Island in 1784, the son of Jonathan and Sarah Thurston Davenport. Little is known about his early life, though he may have served as a carpenter’s apprentice under his father. When he was twenty-three, Davenport moved to the growing port of Savannah where he began constructing houses as early as 1808. On March 15, 1809 Davenport married South Carolinian Sarah Rosamund Clark who he met while she was living with relatives in Savannah. Davenport bought and sold several lots in the city and grew wealthy enough to own ten slaves.

He may have begun the home there as early as 1815, but it was not completed until 1820. When finished, the Davenport House represented the ability and wealth of a successful craftsman. Constructed in Federal or Adam style during the waning years of its popularity (1775-1820), the house made a conservative statement to Davenport’s neighbors and customers. The interior decoration, not completed until 1822, reveals the influence of the newer Greek Revival style with its emphasis on Greek and Roman elements in the plaster and wood work. This work is primarily visible in the public rooms of the house, the parlor and office.

In 1955, Katherine Summerlin, owner of the Goette Funeral Home, located across the street in the Kehoe House, purchased the property. Summerlin intended to demolish the house to make room for a parking lot. That same year, however, another structure, the City Market, had been demolished for the same reason and some people considered making some effort to save historic structures. Anna C. Hunter, originator of the idea of saving the Davenport House, discussed the thought with six other ladies. They met and organized the Historic Savannah Foundation. Then, on June 28, 1955 Elinor Grunsfeld Adler, Katherine Judkins Clark, Lacy Barrow McIntyre, Dorothy Ripley Roebling, Nola Roos, and Jane Adair Wright joined Anna C. Hunter and formed a plan of attack. They met with Summerlin several times and finally persuaded her to sell them the property for $22,500. In November, when the first general membership meeting of Historic Savannah was held, seven hundred people joined the fight, and the group raised the funds needed only hours before demolition was to begin.

The Davenport staff and its generous supporters were concerned that the Davenport House maintain its reputation as a first class museum. A consultant was hired in 1992 to research the history of the Davenport family, the building, and its contents. The new furnishings plan, implemented in 1994, followed the inventory (a comprehensive list of all of the building’s contents) made when Isaiah died in 1827. Pieces of furniture deemed inappropriate for whatever reason were returned to their owners and more representative pieces purchased. With the rising cost of antiques in the 1990s, the museum could not afford to completely overhaul its exhibits at one time, but kept some pieces in place until such a time as more appropriate items could be procured.

While the initial reaction of the public to the toned down interpretation was not completely positive, the Davenport House gives its visitors a much more accurate picture of a middle-class Savannah family than ever before, and the house continues to be Savannah’s premier house museum, striving to educate and entertain nearly 70,000 visitors a year.