Historical markerSavannah's Waving Girl statue, with her incorrect year of birth
Florence Margaret Martus (August 7, 1868 – February 8, 1943),[1] also known as "the Waving Girl", took it upon herself to be the unofficial greeter of all ships that entered and left the Port of Savannah, Georgia, between 1887 and 1931.[1] A few years after she began waving at passing sailors, she moved in with her brother, a light keeper, at his small white cottage about five miles up the river from Fort Pulaski. From her rustic home on Elba Island, a tiny piece of land in the Savannah River near the Atlantic Ocean, Martus waved a handkerchief by day and a lantern by night. According to legend, not a ship was missed in her forty-four years on watch. A statue of Martus, by the sculptor Felix de Weldon, has been erected in Morrell Park on the historic riverfront of Savannah.
Early life
Martus was born on August 7, 1868, in Cockspur Island, near Savannah, Georgia. She was the daughter of German-born Civil War veteran John H. Martus and Rosanna Cecilia Decker.[1] She had five siblings: Catherine, Annie, Charles, George and Mary.[1] John Martus was an ordnance sergeant at Fort Pulaski on Cockspur Island.[2]
Following her father's death (by 1890), the family moved to Savannah. They returned to Elba Island when her brother, George, became keeper of the Elba and South Channel lights.[1]
Legends
Many legends endure about Martus, notably the following:
The reason she greeted ships was because as a young girl, she had fallen in love with a sailor and wanted to be sure he would find her when he returned.[3] When, after 44 years, he did not, she died of a broken heart.
When the captain of the ship that brought her memorial statue to Savannah arrived, he refused to accept payment because of his fond memories of Martus.[4]
Personal life
When George retired, they both moved to Bona Bella in Savannah, with the mayor of Savannah officially welcoming them to the city.[1]
