Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters

We didn’t book in advance but were able to join a group beginning a guided tour almost immaculate. The guide was outstanding. It’s an interesting visit in terms of the unique architecture, the view of life at that time in such a home with enslaved people an integral part of the system, and the unique historical roles played by some of the inhabitants. So, a small place, a home, but an experience that’s interesting and revealing on several levels. We’re glad we stumbled onto this place.

I'm glad we toured this place. Our kids loved the history and the very knowledgeable staff/tour guides, made the history of the house and how it was ran, very imaginable. The house is very well preserved and the story of the house itself is intriguing. Our kids were fascinated. At the end of the tour, you are able to read the captured notes from letters sent from some of the home's inhabitants. Pictures are welcomed! I wish I would've taken more, but I was REALLY intrigued.

A powerful and beautifully preserved piece of Savannah’s history. The Owens-Thomas House offers a rare blend of stunning Regency architecture and honest storytelling about both the wealthy family and the enslaved people who lived there. The restored slave quarters are especially moving. Guided tours are informative and well-paced. Highly recommend for a meaningful and educational experience.

No trip to Savannah would be complete without a guided tour of this truly incredible and historically significant home. Our tour guides' passsion and deep knowledge of the location and it's many layers of history made for a meaningful, moving, at times surprising and deeply instructive experience.

Must, must, must. Most significant tour in Savannah. Tickets are $30, but include two other places, not quite as spectacular. Deep look into the history of one of Savannah's most important houses. Great guides!

Very interesting testimony of the time of slavery. Help to understand the dire contrast between the life of enslaved people and enslavers. The guide was very knowledgeable. Notably, the Marquis de La Fayette staid in this place during his last trip to America.

At first I was skeptical that this would be worth $30 adult ticket. As a couple that does not always enjoying guided tours in museums my expectations were low admittedly. The moment Jovianny walked in and started educating I was blown away. It’s a really cool house and story and our guide Jovianny really told it in a fun and interesting way. Highly recommend, and a HUGE shout out to our guide who clearly loves his work.

Absolutely excellent tour and experience. Very experienced tour guides, small and comfortable groups, plan your trip and either pre schedule or arrive early. Very clean rest room area.

We were only in Savannah, GA for about 4 days, so we didn't get to see the other two museum/historical tours included in the price of our ticket but WOW - the tour of the Owens-Thomas House and Slave Quarters was one of the highlights of our trip. Jovi was our tour guide and was phenomenal!! The tour held no punches and was very informative and educational about what went into the building of the house itself along with the racist ideologies of the home owners and their children. Our tour guide did not hesitate to answer any questions we or others had, and we felt the tour was excellent in terms of staying culturally sensitive and competent. Really, really loved the end of the tour that paid tribute to the slaves themselves and what they underwent in such dark times. Would definitely recommend this tour to others!

My wife and I were on a long weekend vacation in Savannah and we had to tour an old historic house and I wanted to see this house with slave quarters. The tour was about an hour and the enslaved peoples quarters were not that far from the house. I have seen slave quarters at plantations, and this was a house off to the side with multiple levels and they said it was mostly for younger children. Owens was a pretty bad dude that traded slaves like commodities, he traded about 600 slaves from Savannah, but the house tour was pretty cool. They had one of the first indoor plumbing in America made from rain water. The son-in-law had a doctor office in the corner. The rooms were all very interesting and there is a cool gangway bridge on the upper level of the main house. The tour guide was very good and they have lots of good information on how they treated their slaves. This is a really good tour, a little expensive at $30 a piece, but the people there are super nice. They have a waiting room with lots of good information while you wait for your tour.

Engaging and well-informed tour guide took our little group through the buildings, telling educational stories with a balance between those of the enslaved and the enslavers. The property is well kept. Street parking. Recommended!

While pretty informative, I was underwhelmed by the tour guides who lacked energy during ger presentation. The Aiken- Rhett house in Charleston, which is similar to this site, was larger, kept restoration to a minimum and was less expensive since it didn't bundle art museums into a somewhat inflated admission fee. While somewhat worthwhile as Savannah has limited attractions of this kind, $30 is a bit steep for a lackluster tour of a smallish grounds that last at most, 1 hour.

When visiting Savannah, this is your number one stop to make. In truth, this was my second tour of this house, one year apart, and each tour guide brings their own personality to the tour. The tour guide this year, Jovi, was out of this world good. Passionate and engaging and personable, Jovi told us about the house, its inhabitants (enslaved or not) and answered all questions with obvious excitement. He even shared new developments and changes coming to the house soon! I'm sure other tour guides of this house are amazing, but Jovi must be one of their best. The emphasis toward the enslaved people is crucial in preserving their humanity throughout history. The Telfair Museums' commitment to racial equity was clear when we began the tour in the former carriage house: viewing the names of enslaved individuals but also the blank pieces of wood to symbolize those whose names were lost to history. The rest of the tour focused on both enslavers and enslaved; though slavery doesn't dominate the tour, there is no escaping enslaved labor was part of daily life for the Owens and Thomas families. There are lots of museums/homes that have preserved the portion of homes for the white inhabitants; while the Owens-Thomas house has done this exceedingly well, the house and tour is unique because of their dedication and respect towards enslaved people and their inclusion. You can even read primary historical documents for yourself in the basement!

This was a very informative and interesting guided tour of the carriage house, garden, and main house. Recommend this experience.

This is a beautifully preserved historic home, that gives you a peek into how those with money lived in Savannah with their slaves. I took an audio tour. I was expecting a guided tour so I did not have headphones, which does become problematic when more than one person is in the room taking the audio tour without headphones. There is staff throughout the home prepared to answer any question. I learned a lot touring the Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters.

This place is $30 for an adult. It's one ticket for 3 museums. These are guided tours that last up to an hour or less. You arrive and then they give you a tour time. The Owens-Thomas House was interesting, you get to see the old architecture and how the bedrooms looked. There is a nice garden. I really love how the staircase looks, it's very picturesque. Our tour guide was very informative and we didn't feel rushed at all. I would recommend coming here if you're in the area.

Well balanced tour of both communities that lived in the house, white and Black. Renee did an excellent job.

Owens-Thomas house was our first activity in Savannah, and I say it's a must on a trip if you can understand English. Unlike the Prohibition exhibit nearby, I didn't notice any side cards or audio that translated the information into alternative languages. A missed opportunity to gain more of an international audience. We got our tickets in person and didn't wait long for the next tour guide to take us through the house. The package includes admission to Telfair Academy and the Jepson Centre. The experience here is more impactful to me than the rest. We had a live narrated tour and got to see the living quarters of the wealthy and the enslaved people they kept. Our tour guide was knowledgeable and answered all our curious questions. I appreciate that they kept the information factual without adding opinions or emotions and admitted when some info was unknown. They have written documents from the wealthy; you can read and gather your thoughts on what the enslavers might've felt towards Black individuals. It's a shame that there is no documentation of how the enslaved people at this home felt. Back then, they were forbidden to learn how to read or write to document this. Or at least there is no record of any.

Not all people enjoy tours, but I sure do. I love historic homes and history. This was a great combination of both. Our docent was Rebecca and she was amazing. I learned so much. The home was built in the Regency style for shipping merchant Richard Richardson in 1819 by architect William Jay. It was a modern marvel of its time and had the first indoor bathrooms. Each room was an architectural delight. I loved the varied crown molding, the beautiful flooring, the double staircase, and the unusual bridge on the second floor. After only three years, the Richardson family fell on hard times and lost the house. After a period as a boarding house, it was purchased by George Owens in 1830. The Owen's family owned the home until it was donated to the Telfair Museums in 1951. Of course this home was ran by enslaved people, which is a sad piece of our history. In the basement I found this quote that really stirred me. "The United States is still struggling to overcome the deeply engrained race-based inequality that is the legacy of slavery. An understanding of the historical origins of this inequality can inform the development of future solutions." My Mama has always said, "When we know better, we do better." I hope so. This tour is HIGHLY recommended. If you are lucky, Rebecca will be your docent. '

Amazing tour with Jiovanny. Beautiful space, though its hard to admire it all knowing the people who lived here were slave owners. But an incredible piece of history. A must if you're visiting Savannah!

This is a very historic property and they have a great audio tour and let you go through the majority of the property. It's very fascinating and educational. It gives a good homage to the history as well. Very honest and upfront. It's a super deal because you can buy the 3- for- one ticket and get access to this property, the Telfair Academy and the Jepson Center for $20.

Went in to hear about the home and its furnishings and wound up getting a lecture on slavery and how awful white people are! Seriously are you kidding me. I know the history of slavery and yes it was awful, but when I pay money to know about the home I want information on the Home! You should learn from the Biltmore. Highly disappointed. I read more than you told me!

Dook served as the tour guide for the Owen-Thomas House and Slave Quarters. During the tour, there was a lady who struggled to climb the stairs, so she opted to sit at the bottom on a bench. At the conclusion of the tour upstairs, Dook approached her and scolded her in front of everyone, expressing offense that she hadn't taken the stairs. She explained that she hadn't realized she wouldn't be able to manage the steep stairs and didn't want to hold anyone back. Nevertheless, Dook informed her that she was no longer welcome on his tour. His behavior was highly unprofessional and unwarranted. The young lady sat outside, visibly upset and in tears, while her family completed the tour. Witnessing the situation left me too distraught to focus on the tour.

You can't just go to this museum. They force you to pay $30 for a ticket to also go to 2 other museums. We don't want to go to the other museums. We refuse to pay $30 for this one place. Ridiculous.

A little late but better than never. My first trip down to savannah and everything I searched on things to do led to the Owens-Thomas House. I knew I had to take a look. It was an interesting and very informative experience. Our guide was nothing but kind and she knew the history very well. I got there around 1045 and the next tour was at 11! So I didn't wait long and they have benches for people to wait with accessible bathrooms and drinking fountains by the beautiful garden. When you purchase a ticket, you gain access to the other two museums; Jepson center and the Telfair Academy. You don't have to go to all of them the same day. Your ticket will tell you when the admission expires! Great way to go back again to savannah. If you're heading down to Savannah and love museums like I do, check this place out!

This was a cool house to visit. We did the self-guided tour. It was odd though because we had a tour group in front of us from the previous half hour and then other self-guided people behind us pushing us through. I wish I could visit this house without having to purchase tickets to the art museum and other museum. Nice history through the house that depicts the times and life of different characters of their day.

We came here as the first stop on the tour of the three Telfair properties included in the ticket. You can buy your ticket at any of the three locations. We luckily found parking directly across the street from the house and it was Sunday so we didn't even have to pay. The first available tour was about an hour after we arrived, so instead of waiting around we scheduled it for later in the day so we could something in the meantime. Once we returned, we started our self-guided tour (due to COVID, they used to have a real person giving the tour). Our group was not that big (10 people maybe) so we were able to move and do the audio on our phones (all on a website) without overlapping too much. The stations are clearly marked and the order was simple to follow. There was good information at all of the stations and I liked that it wasn't too long and digestible for everyone in our family. The whole thing lasted close to an hour and we got a good feel for what went on in this house.

Excellent restoration and an engaging self-guided tour. Friendly and knowledgeable docents. They do a great treatment of the intertwined but distinct lives of the families (enslavers and enslaved people) who lived in the house. Get there early during the busy season to make sure you can get a ticket in. The group sizes because of the size of the house are limited and first-come, first-served. While you wait for your entry time, I suggest that you do the self-guided exterior architecture tour.

This was a very educational experience and I'm glad I had the pleasure to tour the museum and soak in sobering history. To be quite honest, I got pretty emotional during the majority of the tour but let's put emotions aside for now. Tickets can be purchased online or on site for a little over $20. The "pass" enables you to visit the Owens-Thomas House, the Telfair Academy, and the Jepson Center. Because of COVID-19 precautions, the tours are self guided. Visitors use their smartphones for the audio portion of the tour which uses a numbering system. There is a lot to learn, absorb, and reflect on during the tour. The stories, explanations, and deeper dive took visitors in to a piece of history that has a lot of pain, betrayal, and hardship. Everyone on the museum grounds were really acquainted with the history of the property and happily answered any questions that came up. This is an absolute 'must-visit' while in Savannah. This is what is described the museum on the Telfair Museums' website: "Built as a beautiful Regency style mansion in 1819, the Owens-Thomas House, along with its adjacent gardens, carriage house, and slave quarters, allows visitors to explore the complicated relationships between the most and least powerful people in the city of Savannah in the early 19th century. Only a seven-minute walk from Telfair Museums' other two sites, this historic home offers a completely different experience. Visitors on our guided tours explore period rooms full of exquisite decorative arts, interactive exhibits for all ages, and historic spaces filled with stories, all while learning about the people, both free and enslaved, who lived and worked on the site 200 years ago."

One of the first attractions we visited when my wife and I made our first trek to Savannah was the Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters. Like most of downtown Savannah, there's a tremendous amount of history in this Regency-style mansion, along with the adjacent gardens, carriage house, and slave quarters. From the moment you start the tour, you feel a complete impression of the complicated relationship between the most affluent and least fortunate people in Savannah during the 19th century. George Owens and his family owned the house for more than 120 years; when he lived there, he had six children and approximately 12 enslaved people. When you walk through the main house and the slave quarters, you receive a glimpse of what life was back then. Through the period rooms and interactive exhibits, you learn about the people who lived there and the enslaved that supported them more than 200 years ago. The differences between the haves and have-nots were striking. The interior of the slave quarters on both the top and bottom floors is stark and paints a clear picture of the conditions the enslaved had while on the property, against the lush and extravagant Owens-Thomas House. You can walk through the parterre garden and view the public and private spaces within the main houses, including the drawing-room, dining room, bedrooms, and library with the Regency style, furnished and styled with the furniture and finishes known for the era. You experience the workspaces such as the butler's pantry and the working cellar. The Owens-Thomas House is an experience if you enjoy history and want to learn more about life's history back in the early 1800s in Savannah.

Fascinating way to spend 45-60 minutes in Savannah if you're an history and architecture geek like myself. Built in 1819, this lovely Regency style mansion's gardens, exterior, and interior are mostly well maintained in their 19th century motif. You'll wander through elegant rooms to relive the lifestyles of the white elites...and the less than ideal living and working conditions of the slaves. For some reason I found the basement kitchen of particular interest. Admire the lovely decor and architecture, but never forget that this wealth was an evil product of hundreds of years of kidnapping, rape, racism and enslavement. $20, but that includes two additional attractions in Savannah.

The Thomas-Owen and Slave Quarters House, the staff, was very polite and very informative of the history of the mansion, each room we visited and every piece of furniture. The tour took about an hour, give or take. When you purchase your pass, you get admission to a total of 3 different museums that are all within a few blocks. Also, if you're military, you get a $2 discount. We will visit the other two museums tomorrow. I will review those then!

Historical and retouched nicely. Yours every 15min. Tour last about an hour. A lot of walking and stairs. Entrance to this house also pays for two other local museums. Totally worth it! Enjoy

I've taken many friends on this historic house tour over the years. The house has grown with more to see. The kitchen is a unique feature that other historic houses don't have and the gardens are beautiful. However, I feel a tour is only as good as the guide. On Monday May 30th at the 12:45 tour, the man who was our guide seemed more to lecture with undertones of his adgenda. Yes, we have all been to school and understand that salvery was a dark spot in our history. This was advertised as a historic house tour and unfortunately, I don't think the guide fulfilled that criteria.

So disappointed with the Owens-Thomas house. I came by just afternoon and there was a sold out sign. I asked how they recommend I get a ticket, and they said the only way is by waiting in line when they open, but a timed ticket, and then return later in the day. Really???!? In 2021, you can't purchase a ticket online? You can't offer 15 minute tickets? I even asked if I could join a tour company and they said the only way was showing up when they opened. I'm not waking up at 8am, skipping breakfast with the family, and waiting in line just to buy tickets, which in turn I have to return later.

A terrific museum about the upstairs/downstairs lives of wealthy Savannah citizens and their enslaved servants. Throughout the house museum you're presented with the contrast (and conflict) between people of privilege and people without standing. Tours are self-guided but a free downloadable app provides audio information on your phone for 16 stops along the way. Your ticket guarantees you a tour time plus access to two nearby art museums: the Jepsen and Telfair.

This house was surprisingly donated to be a museum in the 1950s! The tour is very informative, but I did not like that it is an audio self-guided tour because then everyone is trying to listen to the audio on their own phones but the sound is overlapping which makes it hard to focus. We hung back in the beginning from the crowd which helped and then we also started to just read instead of listen to the tour which made it better in my opinion. There were questions that we had that the self guided tour didn't cover but there were employees all around who were very knowledgeable about the house to answer questions. The main house is beautifully restored and the basement is preserved, so you get some look at what things looked like in the 1800s and also some aspects of just history and more of a museum style. I would recommend coming here. We did not need to buy tickets in advance.

Interesting experience that really showcases life in old Savannah and some of the impact of slavery on the city. The museum does a good job of referencing the topic of enslavement in a delicate and respectful way, although it barely scratches the surface of its horrors. The museum is a bit small, but it packs a lot of information into a small space and the guides are extremely knowledgeable. Definitely worth a stop while in town, and your ticket will get you into two other excellent museums for free.

I really loved visiting this historical site. I could tell that the curators of the space took great care and attention when decorating and making exhibits. Would definitely be a spot I would return in the future.

Very interesting tour! The home is beautiful and well cared for. They did a good job of addressing the complexities of slavery. Air conditioning was wonderful in the July heat! Staff were very helpful and knowledgeable. Lots of stairs. Only down side is you have to pay for a ticket to all three of their museums at once and can't just pay for one.

Excellent tour with knowledgeable staff. We learned a lot and enjoyed our time. They only do guided tours, which was a bit challenging since we had our almost 2 year old, but we were able to step out and rejoin the tour when needed.

An excellent tour. Historically important and an important piece of Savannah history. Duke was an excellent guide. I recommend everyone go!

Interesting house but skip the self guided audio tour unless you bring your own headphones. The audio tour isn't like other museums where you are given a device with headphones, they expect you to play it on your phone which is untenable with multiple people all trying to hear the same audio being played unsycned across a room. It's just chaotic you can't hear anything.

Commend this museum for acknowledging the history of the property including that of slaves, and how the family treated the people they owned. It's a beautiful and unique property, but like (I'm assuming) all the larger properties in Savannah/ Georgia/ the south/ the Confederacy- I can't look at any of it and not see the evil of the wealth built in the backs of humans they owned. This is one of few similar places that isn't shying away from the story or sweeping it under the rug. Frankly, all other relevant house museums should follow suit.

This was a good tour of a historic home. The tour guide (Cassidy) was knowledgeable about the history of the Richardson (prior to Owens) and Owens' ownership of the house and the changes that were made throughout the history of the the building. However, the slavery portion of the tour was rather brief and somewhat superficial. We started the tour in the slave quarters and covered the fact that dozens of slaves were necessary to keep the house and its inhabitants comfortable, but it didn't get into much of the day to day living conditions and expectations of being enslaved. The home itself is restored and the stories about each room are interesting but if you've seen one historic home, you've seen them all. Lots of stories about furnishing and paintings and the like -- nothing particularly special about this place. Additionally, you can't book your tour slot in advance online so you need to appear in person and find out that you need to wait 1-2 hours before your tour slot. This happened to work out perfectly for us because we arrived at 11:30 and the first slot was at 1:00 so we could fit in lunch at a nearby pub. But if you're on a tighter schedule, it could be impossible to make this fit.

Thank you Daniel! Our tour was very informative and your openness to the questions that our group presented was appreciated! I was struck yet again by the contrast in lifestyle and the "two worldliness" of that era! I begin to think that the more things change the more things remain the same! We are responsible for making the world better by acknowledging the past and requiring more of each other in our present and future! I strongly recommend a visit to the Owens-Thomas house with young people of diverse backgrounds!

This was a step back in time... to an era for which many of us have no reference point. Powerful emotions live on here... worth your time.

I was expecting so much from this tour after reading the reviews online. Everyone said this couldn't be missed. Hmm... maybe I just got the wrong tour guide. I walked up on a Saturday afternoon and had to wait 26 minutes for my assigned tour. I went into the orientation gallery to explore and find out pre-tour information. It's a nice gallery with a couple interactive touches. Our guide, Linda Wallis, came in and we headed to the slave house first. She told us 10 slaves lived in this 3 bedroom home and the paint was original to the place. She then asked if we had any questions which a few did and she answered them sternly. The rest of the tour followed this same format of her telling us where we were in the main house and then asking for questions which she'd reply to in an almost rude and stern way. I did get her to share a few laughs with our group when she brought up the men back then compared to now so I'm sure she's a lovely person to know outside of her job. My main dissatisfaction is that I didn't hear anything about the relationship between the slaves and their master. I thought that's what the tour would focus on, however it was Linda telling us the room we were in and asking if we had questions. She did tell us about the homes construction and how water flowed thru it, but nothing about how slaves were treated or what was required of them. I feel like this tour would be better if they gave everyone headsets to wonder thru the property and listen to a guide that way. Then if you have questions you could ask a live guide who would be around making sure people don't do anything they aren't supposed to. This is my honest thoughts in this tour. I was simply unimpressed with the guide.

We visited The Owen-Thomas House & Slave Quarters today. This is a must-see for anyone visiting Savannah! The tour is a self-guided walking tour using your cell phone. You scan a QR code and are able to play a narrative as you approach each station. The history you will glean from this tour is very rich and detailed, with an emphasis on the contributions and suffering of family-owned slaves. Telfair has done an incredible job of preserving this property and installing furnishings and decor that are true to the period. You will learn much from this tour and have a better understanding of Savannah history.

25 dollars for a tour is out of control. I skipped it but my wife went. Theres a nice cafe called cup to cup that I sat at while she toured.

This home is beautiful. I especially liked the careful attention given to the lives of the enslaved people who made that lavish lifestyle possible. Kudos to Telfair!

I do not like the way the interpretation was delivered, how the house was set-up. The staff did not help improve the situation, and there was a cockroach in the modern bathroom on site. I was led to believe this was an art museum. It is a historic house.

I was skeptical, before going here, if the claim about this tour including substantive material about the slave experience would be well presented. But it absolutely was. Much of this was due to our guide, a woman named Jackie. She successfully wove details about slavery & the lives of slaves into her presentation. It was fascinating, & I learned A LOT. Also, the house was very interesting. It includes some elements that I've never seen before--which is saying quite a lot as I've been to hundreds of historic house museums.

Timing is tricky for the mandatory tours, but the tour is good. Learned a lot about local history. Admission: $20 gets you one adult ticket for entry to all three Telfair Museums sites: the Owens-Thomas House and Slave Quarters, the Telfair Academy, and the Jepson Center. The ticket is hood for one calendar week from the initial purchase. The buildings are all within 3 blocks of each other with a small map on the back of the ticket. Tours: You have to book a tour to see the House and Slave Quarters. Tours run every 20 minutes. Tickets are purchased only in person for the next immediately available tour. This means you might get there and the next tour is an hour later. (See St. John's Cathedral, 0.3 miles and an easy walk, while you wait.) This makes timing when to see it difficult. They seem to take about 15ish people at a time. The tour guide was friendly, and answered everyone's questions. He talked a lot about the family members, architectural history, and what we know of the daily life of the people the family enslaved. The buildings have been outfitted with AC so tours in the summer are good. You can wait in the orientation building which is air conditioned too. This is the only building you can enter without paying a ticket. Buildings: The slave quarters contains some furniture that was not what they would have had. The beds for instance would have been rolled mats according to the tour guide. Be sure to check out the blue ceilings. The house tours three levels. It is filled with original and period piece furniture and art.

Tour gives you a detailed look at life in Savannah and doesn't hide the fact that enslaved people helped to built this city. Tour starts in the Slaves Quarters and shows you the hardships these people had to endure. After that you move into the Main House and are shown room by room how life was lived in 1840-1860. Tour guides are knowledgeable and answer questions.

I thought they presented the history in a respectful way and I enjoyed the information. My issue is with the fact that the tour is self guided but still the same price as the guided tour should be. I found it very frustrating trying to do the tour when the people around us were listening to the same thing, at different times, because it's hard fo pay attention. My suggestion is that if you are not going to offer a guided tour, at least give headphones to people so as to not distract others.

The slave's quarter... that is where we started the tour. It takes imagination to see what went on here 200 years ago, where the owner of this house owned 400 slaves and half of those are under the age of 14, all stacked in this tiny room, which was a part of the stable. It didn't matter how modern the house toilet system was for that period of time, or how beautiful the garden was, or the advanced design of the water collection and storage system was of this house, there was only thing on my mind...the Slaves Quarter, these people used to own slaves, slaves were properties to them, such a unbelievable piece of history displayed in front of my eyes here.