What makes The Wilder House a historic Savannah vacation rental?

The Wilder House at 314-316 East Park Avenue was built in 1898 by local grocer John Hinson Wilder out of a father's love for his family — a Victorian duplex so his children could live side by side, close but with lives of their own. The building has stood on the same corner in Savannah's Victorian District for over 125 years. Original heart-pine floors, 11-foot ceilings, and period millwork are preserved throughout both suites. The property operates under Savannah STVR licenses SVR-01357 and SVR-01358. Your host's family has owned the building since 1998 — exactly 100 years after it was built.

What original historic features are preserved in the suites?

Both suites at The Wilder House retain original 1898 heart-pine floors, soaring 11-foot ceilings, and Victorian millwork throughout. Suite 316A also has an original 1898 fireplace. The bones of the building — the floors, the ceilings, the proportions — are exactly what John Wilder put here in 1898. Modern kitchens and bathrooms have been updated, but the historic character of the building is fully intact.

Is The Wilder House in Savannah's Historic District?

The Wilder House is located in Savannah's Victorian District at 314-316 East Park Avenue — one of the most architecturally significant neighborhoods in the American South and directly adjacent to the Savannah National Historic Landmark District. The Victorian District is a recognized historic area known for its preserved 19th-century mansions, iron fences, and Spanish moss-draped streets. Forsyth Park — the centerpiece of the district — is three blocks away, a 4-minute walk.

How old is The Wilder House?

The Wilder House was built in 1898, making it over 125 years old. John Hinson Wilder commissioned the building at 314-316 East Park Avenue as a quadruplex — two suites are now available as vacation rentals. Your host's family purchased the property in 1998, exactly one hundred years after it was built. His son, Reverend John Stephen Wilder, was raised in this home and became known throughout Savannah as 'Savannah's Pastor.'

What historic neighborhood surrounds The Wilder House?

The Wilder House sits in Savannah's Victorian District, a neighborhood of preserved 19th-century mansions and historic architecture surrounding Forsyth Park. East Park Avenue runs along the southern edge of the park. The Victorian District is characterized by its Queen Anne, Italianate, and Gothic Revival homes — many dating to the same era as The Wilder House. The Savannah National Historic Landmark District, River Street, and the famous city squares are all within easy reach.

Do guests stay in an authentic historic home or a renovation?

Guests stay in an authentic 1898 building — not a replica or a modern build designed to look historic. The heart-pine floors, 11-foot ceilings, and Victorian proportions are original. The floors creak just enough to remind you you're in a real historic home. Modern amenities — fully stocked kitchens, high-speed WiFi, smart lock entry, premium linens — are layered in without compromising the building's historic character. It is the real thing.

Is private parking included at a historic Savannah vacation rental?

Yes — private off-street parking is included with every stay at The Wilder House. Each suite gets one dedicated parking spot at no extra charge. In Savannah's Victorian District, where street parking is limited and competitive, having guaranteed private parking is a genuine rarity for a historic vacation rental.

Historic Savannah Vacation Rental | Victorian District

1898

The Story Behind the Walls

A Legacy Built on Love & Southern Grace

Local grocer John Wilder built this home in 1898 as a heartfelt gift for his children — a sanctuary of elegance and family connection on one of Savannah’s finest streets. The soaring ceilings, the heart-pine floors, the intricate millwork in every doorframe: all of it chosen with intention. All of it still here.

Love built it. Grace kept it. Yours to enjoy.

More than 125 years later, it still carries that warm, loving spirit — that guests should feel welcomed, cared for, and completely at home.

Nothing here is replica. The floors that creak under your feet, the ceilings that make every room feel like a ballroom, the ornate trim that took a craftsman weeks to set — this is authentic Savannah, the way it was actually built.

That authenticity exists because Savannah itself was spared. Founded in 1733 by James Oglethorpe — the first planned city in America — Savannah was laid out as an intentional grid of squares, each one a small park surrounded by homes and civic buildings. When Sherman’s March reached the city in December 1864, Savannah surrendered peacefully rather than burn. That single decision preserved more than a century of architecture intact. Most American cities of this age have been demolished and rebuilt several times over. Savannah never was. The block you are standing on looks roughly the way it did when this house was built.

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Forsyth Park · Est. 1851 · Heart of Savannah

The Park That Every Other Savannah Moment Orbits Around

Forsyth Park is not a amenity. It is the civic soul of Savannah — 30 acres of live oaks, Spanish moss, and open green that has anchored daily life in this city since 1851. Every neighborhood radiates outward from it. Every morning in Savannah eventually finds its way to the fountain. Four minutes from this front door, it is the reason the Victorian District has always been Savannah’s most coveted address.

1733

America’s First Planned City

James Oglethorpe laid out Savannah on a precise grid of squares — each one a small park, each one a neighborhood center. It was a radical idea in 1733 and it worked. Twenty-two of those original squares survive intact today, giving Savannah a walkability and human scale that no other American city of its age has preserved.

1851

Forsyth Park Opens

Savannah’s largest public green was established at the southern edge of the city as a place for citizens to gather, rest, and breathe. The live oaks that line its paths today were planted in those early years. They are now among the oldest urban trees in Georgia.

1858

The Fountain Is Installed

Cast in New York and modeled after fountains in Paris and Cuzco, the Forsyth Park fountain became an instant landmark. It has been photographed more times than any other single object in Savannah. On a quiet weekday morning before the tourists arrive, it is still one of the most beautiful things in the American South.

1864

The City That Chose to Survive

When Sherman’s March reached Savannah in December 1864, the city’s leaders made the decision to surrender rather than burn. The Victorian District — then just beginning to take shape — was spared. The homes on East Park Avenue, including this one, exist today because of that choice. Savannah is one of the only Southern cities of its era that still looks like itself.

Today Forsyth Park is Savannah’s living room. Dog walkers and joggers circle the perimeter at dawn. The Saturday Forsyth Park Farmers Market fills the north end every weekend morning with local vendors, fresh produce, coffee, and flowers. Families spread out on the grass. Azaleas bloom in waves of pink and white every March and April. In the evenings, the fountain is lit and the Spanish moss catches the last amber light in a way that does not photograph well — you have to be there.

The Victorian District homes that face the park — including this one on East Park Avenue — were built by Savannah’s merchant and professional class in the decades after the Civil War. They chose this block deliberately, for the same reason guests choose it today: proximity to the park, distance from the noise of downtown, and a quality of light and air that is hard to explain and impossible to forget.

“Savannah is not a place you visit. It’s a place that gets into you — the moss, the squares, the slow mornings. Forsyth Park is where that feeling starts.”

What Your Stay Looks Like

Three Blocks from Forsyth Park. One Block from Everything Else.

Most vacation rentals describe what they have. We’d rather show you what you’ll do. Because a stay at The Wilder House isn’t about the square footage — it’s about what Savannah actually feels like when you live inside it for a few days.

Your Morning

Coffee, a Picnic Basket, and the Live Oaks at 8 AM

The kitchen is fully stocked — real cookware, real appliances, everything you need to make a proper morning. There’s a picnic basket waiting. Fill it, step out the front door, and you’re four minutes from Forsyth Park and the Saturday farmers market. The park smells like jasmine in spring. You’ll want to come back every morning.

Your Afternoon

The Victorian District on Foot — No Car Needed

East Park Avenue puts you at the center of Savannah’s most walkable square mile. Coffee at a place that’s been here for decades. Galleries in converted carriage houses. Restaurants in homes with 12-foot ceilings that rival yours. Broughton Street shopping ten minutes on foot. The car stays parked. Private parking is included, but you won’t need it until you leave.

Your Evening

Dinner, Then the Long Way Back Through the Squares

Dinner somewhere on the block, then the long way home — through the squares, past the Spanish moss lit amber at dusk, maybe a ghost tour passing your front steps. Back inside, 11-foot ceilings and original floors that creak just enough to remind you this place has stories. Yours is the latest one. It fits perfectly.

Forsyth Park Vacation Rentals · Savannah, GA

Choose Your Suite

Two private suites side by side in the same 1898 building. Book one or take both and bring the whole group.

Suite 314A

From $195 / night

★ 4.97 • 103 Reviews • Guest Favorite • Superhost

2 Bedrooms King + Queen 1 Bath Sleeps 4 ~1,100 sq ft Private Parking

Original heart-pine floors, soaring 11-foot ceilings, and three blocks to Forsyth Park. Fully stocked kitchen, private off-street parking. One of Savannah’s highest-rated historic vacation rentals.

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Suite 316A

From $195 / night

★ 4.97 • Guest Favorite • Superhost • Top 10%

2 Bedrooms King + Queen 1 Bath Sleeps 4 302 Mbps WiFi Fireplace

Haint blue kitchen island, original fireplace, ornate Victorian millwork. Three blocks from Forsyth Park in Savannah’s most storied neighborhood. Fully stocked kitchen, private parking included.

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★ Most Popular

Book Both Suites

From $395 / night — 4 beds, 2 kitchens

★ Best for Groups • Families • Reunions • Weddings

4 Bedrooms 2 Kings + 2 Queens 2 Baths Sleeps 8 2 Parking Spots 2 Full Kitchens

Both suites, side by side in the same 1898 building. Four bedrooms, two full kitchens, two baths, two private parking spots. The full Wilder House experience — the best way to bring a group to Savannah.

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Victorian District · Savannah, Georgia

Why the Victorian District Beats the Historic District Every Time

Most visitors book in or near Savannah’s Historic District — River Street, the tourist corridor, the downtown hotels. It’s fine. It’s also loud, crowded, and built primarily for people passing through.

The Victorian District is where Savannah actually lives. Quiet mornings. Live oaks overhead. Forsyth Park four minutes from your front door. Local restaurants where the regulars know the staff. Architecture that hasn’t been renovated for tourism — just preserved by the people who love it.

The key fact: you are walking distance from everything in the Historic District anyway. Broughton Street, the squares, River Street, the museums — all reachable in 10–15 minutes on foot. But you sleep in a neighborhood that breathes, wakes up in a building that’s been standing since 1898, and come home to private parking that’s already yours.

The Historic District is Savannah’s front porch — put together for company. The Victorian District is Savannah’s living room. The real thing.

Forsyth Park

4-minute walk. Savannah’s most iconic park — the fountain, the live oaks, the Saturday farmers market, the azaleas in spring.
Coffee & Brunch

Local cafes, bakeries, and brunch spots within a 5-minute walk. Savannah runs on slow mornings.
Savannah’s Historic Squares

All 22 squares within 15 minutes on foot — each one a different chapter of Savannah’s story.
Tybee Island Beach

25 minutes by car. Private parking included — so you can actually go.
314 East Park Avenue

Savannah, Georgia 31401 — Victorian District. Two blocks from Starland, ten minutes from River Street.

The Wilder House on East Park Avenue — Victorian District Savannah vacation rental near Forsyth Park

Your Host

Your Host — Savannah Native. Six-Year Superhost. This Is Personal.

Your host was born in Savannah. A carpenter by trade — which means when something in a 125-year-old building needs preserving, it gets done by hand, the right way, with period-appropriate materials and craft that shows. The Wilder House isn’t managed from a distance. It’s tended by someone who lives in this city, knows this neighborhood, and treats the stewardship of this building as a personal responsibility.

Airbnb Superhost since year one, three consecutive years. He knows every restaurant within walking distance, which squares are worth the detour before breakfast, and what Savannah actually smells like on a May morning. He is available directly to guests throughout their stay — not a support queue, not a bot. A real person who cares whether your experience here is exceptional.

“I want you to leave knowing Savannah the way I know it — not the tourist version, but the real one. The one that stays with you after you go home.”

— Your Host & Savannah Native

4.97 Average Star Rating

209 Guest Stays

6 Years as Superhost

1898 Year Built

Why The Wilder House

What Sets This Property Apart From Every Other Savannah Rental

Savannah has no shortage of vacation rentals. Most are fine. A few are exceptional. Here’s what makes The Wilder House different — and why guests come back.

Authentic 1898 Historic Building

Not “historic-inspired” — built in 1898 and preserved by a carpenter who lives locally. Original heart-pine floors, original 11-foot ceilings, original millwork. The character here was earned over 125 years, not installed last year.

A Host Who Was Born Here

Your host is a Savannah native who manages this property personally. He’s available throughout your stay, knows every restaurant within walking distance, and cares about your experience more than any property management company ever could.

Private Parking in the Victorian District

One dedicated off-street parking spot per suite, included in your rate. In a neighborhood where on-street parking is metered and competitive, this is a genuine advantage most Savannah vacation rentals simply cannot offer.

Flexible Arrival by Request

Early bag drop before check-in, or a relaxed late departure — reach out and ask. We can’t always promise it, but we always try. A host you can actually talk to makes all the difference.

Have a question before you book? Reach out directly at (912) 231-7502 or info@ForsythParkVacationRental.com.

Before You Book

Questions Worth Answering