Anna Habersham Colquitt Hunter (January 21, 1892 – January 28, 1985) was an American preservationist, one of the founders of

Historic Savannah Foundation Historic Savannah Foundation is a preservation organization founded in 1955 and based in Savannah, Georgia, United States. In 1950, the four-story Wetter House on East Oglethorpe was demolished.James Habersham James Habersham (26 January 1712 – 28 August 1775) was an English-born American merchant, planter, missionary, teacher and politician who lived the majority of his life in the Province of Georgia. Habersham is credited with opening the first dir ...

(1712–1775), a pioneering merchant and statesman in the

British North America British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English overseas possessions, English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland (island), Newfound ...

n colony of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

. She was born in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the British colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later t ...

, on January 21, 1892, but also grew up in

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = "Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = G ...

.Anna Colquitt Hunter
– Georgia Women She was a graduate of

Agnes Scott College Agnes Scott College is a private women's liberal arts college in Decatur, Georgia. The college enrolls approximately 1,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The college is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church and is considered one of the ...

, but left to marry George Lewis Cope Hunter, son of James Henry Hunter and Harriet Cope,''A History of the Glen Family of South Carolina and Georgia'' –

University of Wisconsin-Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

, Books on Demand (1923), p. 65 who was a student of agriculture at the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

Athens, Georgia Athens, officially Athens–Clarke County, is a consolidated city-county and college town in the U.S. state of Georgia. Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta, and is a satellite city of the capital. The University of Georgia, the st ...

. He was registered as a student in 1908. George died in 1936, aged 44, leaving his widow with three children to support.

Career

After her husband's death, Hunter began working for the ''

Savannah Morning News The ''Savannah Morning News'' is a daily newspaper in Savannah, Georgia. It is published by Gannett. The motto of the paper is "Light of the Coastal Empire and Lowcountry". The paper serves Savannah, its metropolitan area, and parts of South C ...

'' and the ''Savannah Evening Press'' as a reporter, columnist and editor. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, she served as a

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

field director, serving in North Africa and Italy. After the war, she performed as a dancer and singer, taking her to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

in addition to dates in the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

Historic Savannah Foundation

In 1954, Savannah's popular City Market in

Ellis Square Ellis Square is one of the 22 squares of Savannah, Georgia, United States. It is located in the northernmost row of the city's five rows of squares, on Barnard Street and West St. Julian Street, and was one of the first four squares laid out. T ...

was demolished to be replaced by a parking garage, prompting a public outcry.''Savannah Morning News and Evening Press''
–

Clemson University Clemson University () is a public land-grant research university in Clemson, South Carolina. Founded in 1889, Clemson is the second-largest university in the student population in South Carolina. For the fall 2019 semester, the university enr ...

, May 1981 The following year, a funeral home was set to purchase the Isaiah Davenport House in Columbia Square and tear it down for a parking lot. This sparked a movement to start a preservation process in the city.Our Story
– mhysf.org Hunter formed a group with six of her friends to block the demolition of the house and formed the Historic Savannah Foundation. The group managed to raise the $22,500 needed to purchase the property themselves.

Death

Hunter died on January 28, 1985, aged 93. She is buried with her husband, who she survived by 49 years, in Savannah's

Bonaventure Cemetery Bonaventure Cemetery is a rural cemetery located on a scenic bluff of the Wilmington River, east of Savannah, Georgia. The cemetery became famous when it was featured in the 1994 novel '' Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil'' by John Beren ...

References

External links

"Savannah historic preservation movement founder Anna Hunter recognized by new book, opera"
– ''Savannah Morning News'', October 28, 2017
Obituary
– ''

'', January 29, 1985
Anna Habersham Hunter Colquitt
–

Find a Grave Find a Grave is a website that allows the public to search and add to an online database of cemetery records. It is owned by Ancestry.com. Its stated mission is "to help people from all over the world work together to find, record and present f ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Anna Colquitt 1892 births 1985 deaths Writers from Savannah, Georgia Agnes Scott College alumni American women historians American women writers Historical preservationists