Savannah's Secret—The Bilbo Mound

There is a Savannah secret thats been hidden for years in plain sight. I’ve been doing some research for my current novel about the many canals that run off the Savannah River, in particular, the Savannah-Ogeechee Canal. But as always, while researching one thing, something new turned up—THE BILBO CANAL.

Tucked just outside Downtown Savannah lies a cluster of ancient mounds, known to be Indigenous Settlement Sites. The Bilbo Mound is the oldest of them all. Using radiocarbon dating, they determined it dates back to 3,540 BC, making it the oldest known “public works” structure in the Americas, with construction dating back 5,566 years.

Picture a thriving Indigenous village where Savannah’s bustling river port now runs. The remains suggest that this village was built on timber piers with a man-made canal connecting it to the Savannah River. But recently, the landscape was transformed once again when the Georgia Department of Transportation expanded and reinforced the ancient canal with modern engineering, creating the Bilbo Regional Storm Drainage Canal to manage stormwater for Downtown Savannah. With the new canal now flowing, our current Savannah residents are safe, but the opportunity to explore the original Native American waterway has, unfortunately, been lost to history.

As for the mound itself, this historically significant ancient village remains hidden in plain sight. We have built all around it, yet none of us acknowledge its existence. It is not a tourist attraction and is very difficult to find due to swampy and wooded terrain, which is private property. Although you may not be able to hike to it, you can still see it on Google Maps. Follow the beginning of when the Truman Parkway passes over President’s Street, and look between the Parkway and the new Felicity on Perry.

TO LEARN MORE, Check out this article by Richard L. Thornton