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Proposed marker recounts Wetter House, orphanage, and Elbert Ward history
Summary
The applicant’s proposed marker text traces the site from the 1822 Wetter House through its sale to the Savannah Female Orphan Asylum and later demolition, notes reuse of decorative ironwork around Savannah, and describes the Oglethorpe Lane Building as the last 19th‑century structure in Elbert Ward.
The proposed marker text included in the application summarizes the site’s layered history: Anthony Barclay built the original Wetter House in 1822; Margaret Telfair later transferred it to Sarah A.C. Telfair, who was married to Augustus Wetter, a German‑born civil engineer and Savannah alderman. The marker notes Augustus Wetter’s remodeling work between 1853 and 1861, the sale of the property to the Savannah Female Orphan Asylum in 1891, and the demolition of the main house in 1950 when the property was purchased by Dearing Chevrolet. It records that some of the wrought and cast iron ornamentation was repurposed elsewhere in the city.
The packet also places the lane building in the context of Elbert Ward’s development, citing Sanborn maps and Historic American Buildings Survey photos to show the lane building likely dates to 1888–89 and served later uses including Dearing Chevrolet offices and, eventually, part of the Otis S. Johnson Cultural Arts Center site. The proposed marker text describes the Wetter House as "an example of the best in Savannah architecture for its time," language the applicant submits for HSMC consideration.
