Wagner Heights, originating as a streetcar suburb in 1912, has been hemmed in by roads, businesses, and bottom land from its beginnings. With no room for expansion beyond its five block footprint, this subdivision made small size a virtue. It was a self-contained neighborhood but conveniently located on Wheaton Street near the Ball Park stop on the streetcar line. The subdivision’s proximity to the Savannah Athletic Field was not lost on developers who posted signs on the outfield fence urging prospective homeowners to visit nearby Wagner Heights.
Wagner Heights was first identified as an enclave of German families such as the Hohnerlein, Innecken, and Walz families. The subdivision also bordered on the Reinhard farm established by German immigrants in the 1840s. Interestingly, when portions of the farm were purchased by Hillcrest Cemetery, the old farmhouse was moved and connected to Wagner Heights by road. That ethnic identity faded after 1950 as newcomers attracted by its reasonable home prices settled in the community. Residents often worked in small businesses such as florists, groceries, and confectionaries, although during World War II shipyard workers also lived in Wagner Heights.
In the past twenty years, Wagner Heights’ tradition of home ownership weakened as renters predominated and unemployment figures grew. As the gap between the financially secure and insecure widened, the neighborhood itself was diminished when the construction of the Truman Parkway eliminated one block and demolished half of the homes on another. A small neighborhood became dramatically smaller and its future remains uncertain.
114 Adair Street
Cordray-Foltz Collection, MS 1360, Box 9, Folder 4.
Courtesy of the Georgia Historical Society.
Housing construction in Wagner Heights was sporadic, tending to cluster first on the western edge of the subdivision closer to downtown. This house on Adair Street, shown in a 1934 photograph, was located in a pocket of construction completed in the 1920s.
100 Block of Helmken Street
Photograph by Geoff L. Johnson.
Courtesy of City of Savannah Cultural Affairs Department.
These homes in the 100 block of Helmken Street are typical of the bungalow and craftsman style houses built in Wagner Heights in the early twentieth century.
Innecken Florist
Cordray-Foltz Collection, MS 1360, Box 13, Folder 15.
Courtesy of the Georgia Historical Society.
Innecken Florist was a neighborhood business that developed a clientele across Savannah. Capitalizing on its Wagner Heights location next to Hillcrest Cemetery, Innecken Florist enjoyed a steady business in floral arrangements for funerals and gravesites. The Innecken family, who were among the early residents of Wagner Heights, founded the business in 1926. Construction of Truman Parkway forced the demolition of the business in 1993.
Reinhard Farmhouse
Photograph by Geoff L. Johnson.
Courtesy of City of Savannah Cultural Affairs Department.
This antebellum Reinhard farmhouse, moved to Helmken Street in Wagner House in the 1946, was threatened with demolition during the construction of the Truman Parkway. Through the efforts of Chatham County’s government officials, in 1992 the Reinhard farmhouse was moved out of harm’s way to the Savannah Area Garden Club’s Botanical Gardens on Eiserhower Drive and meticulously restored. The house now serves as the headquarters for the Botanical Gardens.
