Historic Savannah Foundation (HSF), which is currently celebrating its 70th anniversary, will welcome Lucy Brannen and Catharine Varnedoe, granddaughters of one of the organization’s seven original female founders, as guest speakers on Thursday, March 20 at the HSF headquarters, located at 321 E. York St. Part of the 2025 Historic Savannah Foundation Lecture Series, “The People, Places and Stories That Define Savannah,” Brannen and Varnedoe will discuss “The Seven Ladies Who Changed History.” 

Attendees are invited to attend a wine reception at 5:30 p.m. The lecture will start at 6 p.m. This event is sponsored by Kelli Weis, Daniel Ravenel Sotheby's International Realty.

In honor of Women’s History Month in March, Lucy Brannen and Catharine Varnedoe will discuss the events in Savannah in 1955 that inspired the meetings and actions of their grandmother, Lucy Barrow McIntire, as well as Katharine Judkins Clark, Elinor Adler Dillard, Anna Colquitt Hunter, Dorothy Ripley Roebling, Nola McEvoy Roos and Jane Adair Wright. Together, these “Seven Ladies” joined forces to purchase and protect the Isaiah Davenport House, an 1820 Federal-style home on Columbia Square, from being razed and founded Historic Savannah Foundation, a permanent organization dedicated to saving and preserving historic buildings throughout the city. The Seven Ladies shared a common goal – to save the Landmark District from destruction and revitalize the buildings and spaces while returning the area to its former vibrancy.

Brannen and Varnedoe will also share an overview of the Historic Savannah Foundation’s early work and discuss current plans to erect a permanent monument in honor of the Seven Ladies in Columbia Square in the fall of 2025, which marks the 70th anniversary of the start of their work to preserve the beauty and character of Savannah’s Landmark District. The monument will be dedicated to the seven female preservationists who saved the Isaiah Davenport House from demolition in 1955 and kickstarted the modern-day preservation movement in Savannah, Ga. 

“Lucy and Catharine spearheaded the effort to design, build and install the new monument, and beautifully represented the legacy of the Seven Ladies throughout the process of making this monument a reality,” said Historic Savannah Foundation CEO and President Sue Adler. “Their lecture will emphasize why these seven local women who founded Historic Savannah Foundation are so deserving of a permanent marker and how their forward-thinking actions preserved Savannah’s urban plan and historic architecture for future generations.”

A Savannah, Ga. native, Brannen graduated from Vassar College with a degree in Early Childhood Education and earned her Masters’ degree in Education from

Armstrong/Savannah State University and her Education Specialist degree from Georgia Southern University. She taught at Whitehead Road School in Athens, Ga. and Thunderbolt Elementary School in Thunderbolt, Ga. before serving as the Director of the Early Childhood Program at Savannah Country Day School. She co-founded SAFE Shelter in Savannah, for which she was awarded the Governor’s Volunteer Award, and spent the last 18 years of her career as the Elementary Principal at Savannah Christian Preparatory School.

Born in Savannah, Ga., Varnedoe grew up in Savannah and New York. After graduating from the University of Georgia with a BFA in Painting and Drawing, she taught art at Savannah Country Day School before moving to California. She eventually returned to Savannah and worked as a freelance illustrator, providing illustrations for calendars, cookbooks, children’s books and magazines. Today, she paints landscapes and portraits that are exhibited at The Downstairs Gallery in Savannah.

The next speaker in Historic Savannah Foundation’s 2025 Lecture Series will be Alison Goldey, Executive Director of Chatham County/City of Savannah Land Bank Authority, Inc., discussing“Land Bank Authorities and Neighborhood Revitalization” on April 17. For more information about the HSF Lecture Series, please visit myhsf.org/events/lecture-series

Historic Savannah Foundation’s 2025 Lecture Series is open to the public. Reservations are recommended, as space is limited. Attendance is free for Historic Savannah Foundation members and $15 for non-members. Members may RSVP by emailing Kendall Graham at kgraham@myhsf.org or calling 912-233-7787, ext. 109. Non-members may purchase tickets by visiting myhsf.org/events/lecture-series

Historic Savannah Foundation’s 2025 Lecture Series is open to the public. Reservations are recommended, as space is limited. Attendance is free for Historic Savannah Foundation members and $15 for non-members. Members may RSVP by emailing Kendall Graham at kgraham@myhsf.org or calling 912-233-7787, ext. 109. Non-members may purchase tickets by visiting myhsf.org/events/lecture-series