Florence Martus

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Savannah, Georgia's waving girl statue.
Savannah, Georgia's waving girl statue.

Florence Martus (1868 – 1943), aka The Waving Girl, took it upon herself to be the unofficial greeter of all ships that entered and left the Port of Savannah. Using handkerchief by day and lanterns by night, not a ship was missed in her 44 years on watch. A statue of Martus has been erected in Morrell Park on the riverfront in Savannah, Georgia.

Many legends exist about this woman including the following:

  • The reason she greeted ships was because she fell in love as a young girl with a sailor and she was trying to make sure he would find her when he returned. [1]
  • Sailors would bring her gifts [2]
  • 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 [3]

While these may be facts there is no strong supporting evidence for any of them.

On September 27, 1943 a Liberty ship was christened in her honor, the SS Florence Martus.

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