168 CHATHAM COUNTY. 



bones, supposed to belong to the Mastodon Giganteum, were 

 found by Dr. Habersham and other gentlemen. In 1842, 

 Major Williams also found a number of fossil bones near his 

 plantation on Skidaway. 



Remarkable Places. — The remains of Whitefield's Or- 

 phan House are about 9 miles from Savannah. In 1740, the 

 Orphan House was erected, with funds collected in England 

 and America by the Rev. Geo. Whitefield. For some years 

 it flourished, but owing to several causes it declined, and was 

 finally destroyed by fire in 1770. The Countess of Hunting- 

 don, an eminently benevolent lady, aided Mr. Whitefield in 

 founding the Orphan House. In 1808, the property was sold 

 by order of the Legislature of Georgia, and the proceeds 

 applied to the Hospital, the Chatham Academy and the Union 

 Society. Several relics of by-gone days have been found 

 amidst the ruins of the Orphan House, among them a sun-dial 

 of beautiful workmanship, and a medal struck in memory of 

 Whitefield, now in the possession of the author of this work. 

 Among the archives of the Georgia Historical Society is a 

 document containing a list of the orphans at this establish- 

 ment, which aflbrds evidence that the ancestors of some of 

 the most respectable families in Chatham, and other places in 

 Georgia, were educated at this establishment. 



Thunderbolt, 5 miles southeast of Savannah. According 

 to Gen. Oglethorpe's account of Carolina and Georgia, this 

 place received its name "from the fall of a thunderbolt, and a 

 spring thereupon arose in that place, which still smells of the 

 boh." 



Beaulieu, about 12 miles from Savannah, was formerly the 

 residence of Col. William Stephens, celebrated in the early 

 history of the State. , 



Bonaventure is 4 miles from Savannah, known as the 

 seat of Gov. Tattnall, one among the most lovely spots in 

 the world. At the session of the Legislature in 1848, " The 

 Evergreen Cemetery Company of Bonaventure " was incor- 

 porated, the object of which is to establish a decent and suit- 

 able place for the burial of the dead. An area of 70 acres 

 has been enclosed and partially improved, with the hope that 

 the citizens of Savannah will make it their burial ground. 



