Confusion delays Weeping Time, City of Savannah court hearing

Shortly after the hearing commenced on Friday, Gough said he understood it to be a temporary hearing and, along with asking the court to direct the City of Savannah to forward the study to the State Historic Preservation Office for review, he also sought injunctive relief to prevent any activity from taking place on the property for the time being.

Credit: Salvation Army/City of Savannah

Credit: Salvation Army/City of Savannah

“We think we have enough information to proceed forward today on a temporary basis, but we do feel that some discovery is going to be warranted,” Gough told Chatham County Superior Court Judge Lisa Colbert.

“There's information that is surprisingly unavailable to us without discovery that we believe would be highly relevant to the decisions of the court, including some of the historic evidence, which apparently is in the possession of the city of Savannah, but is not publicly available at this time.”

Cross purposes

City of Savannah attorney Bates Lovett said he was under the impression that Friday’s hearing was to determine whether or not the survey should be transmitted to the state historic preservation office.

Lovett said the Salvation Army, which now owns the property, and other parties would need to be present in order to move forward with the injunctive relief.

“The Salvation Army is the owner of the property and I don't believe that you can enjoin them from taking activity on the property without them having an opportunity to be heard,” he said.

“The City of Savannah did not sell this property to the Salvation Army, the Housing Authority (of Savannah) did and so, the Housing Authority needs to be involved as well.”

Colbert said Gough needs to prove that his clients have a clear legal right for her to order the city to send the results to the historic preservation office.

Credit: Nancy Guan

Credit: Nancy Guan

“I wanted to be clear on what you believe this court's authority is, as it relates to the relief you're seeking, because I can't order a mandamus. I can't order another official, or in this case, a body of officials to do something unless they failed to do something that your client has a clear right to,” Colbert said.

In October, the city filed a response to the order stating that the petitioners failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted so it should therefore be dismissed. On Friday, Colbert instructed the city to particularize in a written motion the basis for dismissal.

Additionally, Colbert instructed Gough to particularize what it is that he believes gives the court authority on the matter.

“While I understand your client's wish for me to hear the evidence, but the way this case comes to me, will dictate what it is I get to consider,” she said.

The parties have three weeks to submit the new documents to the court.

Study and permit details 

The controversy surrounding the property has been ongoing for over a year.

In order to build the shelter, the Salvation Army had to obtain a special use permit from the city. In April 2021, a split city council approved the permit by a 5-4 vote pending the outcome of a Phase I Archeological Study to determine if the property is part of the land where the Weeping Time took place.

Mayor Pro-Tem Estella Shabazz, Kesha Gibson-Carter, Alicia Blakely and Bernetta Lanier voted against the motion.

The Weeping Time is recognized by historians as the largest sale of enslaved people in the United States. In 1859 more than 400 enslaved men, women and children from the Butler Plantation in Darien were sold at the Ten Broeck Race Course to pay off the debts of plantation owner Pierce Mease Butler.

The final study was released in July and concluded that the project tract was a legally separate piece of property in March 1859 and states that, based on the chain of title, during the Weeping Time event the racecourse site was owned by Charles A. Lamar. The land to the east, which is now part of the proposed shelter site, was known as the Wallace Tract and was owned by Solomon Goodall.

According to the 100-page study, historical records do not indicate a functional linkage between the project tract property and the adjacent racecourse until at least 1864, but more definitively after 1871.

The study's findings allowed the Salvation Army to obtain a special use permit from the city to move forward with the shelter. Public documents obtained through the Georgia Clerks Cooperative Authority show that the Salvation Army completed the $500,000 purchase of the property from the Housing Authority of Savannah in May 2021.

Gough and the WTC contend that the Augusta Avenue property would have been used in some capacity during the Weeping Time event and is therefore historic and should be preserved.

The city maintains that the study was sent to the appropriate state office and the reviewing of such studies isn’t under the purview of the historic preservation office.

Katie Nussbaum is the city and county government reporter for the Savannah Morning News. Contact her at knussbaum@savannahnow.com. Twitter: KnussSMN

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Confusion delays Weeping Time, City of Savannah court hearing