When strolling around Savannah’s Historic District, you can’t walk one block without encountering a sculpture, monument, or historical marker. Downtown Savannah, however, doesn’t hold a complete monopoly on points of interest in Chatham County.
Port Wentworth, home to Dixie Crystals, features a few sculptures erected to honor the people who have worked at the sugar refinery over the last century. The refinery had been built on the banks of the Savannah River in 1916 and at the time was the primary source of employment for the residents of Port Wentworth.
On February 7, 2008, the Savannah area experienced one of its worst disasters in recent memory when a series of massive dust explosions at the Dixie Crystal sugar refinery killed 14 people and injured 40.
Credit: Christopher Berinato / For Savannah Morning News
Credit: Christopher Berinato / For Savannah Morning News
Because the facilities were antiquated and not well-kept, there were plenty of warning signs that the work environment was dangerous. Poor ventilation led to large amounts of sugar dust collecting in the rafters, the floor, and in the basement. An overheated bearing on a conveyor belt ignited a blockage of sugar dust causing an explosion that spread throughout the building causing other explosions. The powerful blast buckled the concrete floor sending even more dust into the air, and witnesses from across the river could see pillars of fire several stories high erupt form the building.
One year later, Imperial Sugar, the owners of the refinery, erected a monument called Legacy Park in front of the building at 201 Oxnard Dr., in honor of the victims and their families. The monument consists of 14 black stones with the names of each victim etched in gold, as well as eight benches. At the center is a beautiful sculpture of a pair of outreaching hands releasing 14 doves into the air.
The pain of the accident can still be felt today by the families and friends of those lost, but this incredible monument will ensure that they are never forgotten. And new regulations and actions will hopefully ensure that an accident of this kind will never happen again.
Another fascinating sculpture with connections to the refinery lays nearby. It is a miniature version of a famed healing spring. Here is some background for context.
Credit: Christopher Berinato / For Savannah Morning News
Credit: Christopher Berinato / For Savannah Morning News
The shrine to the Lady of Lourdes in France is one of the most visited holy sites in the world. Over 6 million people visit Lourdes each year, many of whom are sick or disabled pilgrims, seeking healing from the spring’s supposed miraculous powers. Thousands have claimed to have been healed by its waters, although the Catholic church only acknowledges 70 of them to be actual miracles.
The shrine sits in a grotto that is the site where a 14-year-old girl named Bernadette Soubirous met an apparition of the Virgin Mary on February 11, 1858. Bernadette visited the grotto several more times to meet Mary with witnesses, none of whom saw the apparition, but did see Bernadette enter an alarming state of religious ecstasy.
With each visit the apparition revealed more information to Bernadette until the final meeting where it said, “Que soy Immaculada Concepcion (I am the Immaculate Conception).” After investigation, the Catholic church confirmed that Bernadette’s vision was real, and built a church at the site. Bernadette was eventually canonized in 1933.
Credit: Christopher Berinato / For Savannah Morning News
Credit: Christopher Berinato / For Savannah Morning News
What does this all have to do with Savannah? Well, you can save yourself an expensive trip to France because Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in nearby Port Wentworth features a replica of the famed shrine and statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The small scale version of the grotto was built by the church in 1958 as a symbol of multicultural faith in honor of the hundreds of Cajun people that migrated from Louisiana to work at the sugar refinery when it first opened.
There are many replicas of the revered shrine in locations all over the nation and world, but this one is certainly the closest. Just don’t expect miracles from drinking the water.
Savannah residents and visitors should be encouraged to explore, not just the historic district, but surrounding cities, municipalities, and attractions all along the Coastal Empire and Lowcountry, because as Port Wentworth proves, there is history all around us.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: That’s So Savannah: What sculptures can you find in Port Wentworth?
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