A history of hospitality and spirits
George Charles Gemenden (Gemünden)
818 Barnard Street was built in 1885 for the Gemunden Family.
George Charles Gemenden (Gemünden) was born November 11, 1811 in Großwinternheim, Germany. He emigrated to the United States in the 1840s and moved to Savannah in 1851 with his wife Catherine and children George Alex and Cassie.
In Savannah, he started a soda water manufacturing business which grew into a large bottling business that included beers, ales, stouts, and cordials. George Charles Gemenden filed many patents for his unique and innovative bottle designs.
In 1856, Gemenden sold his bottling business. He purchased the Planters’ Hotel in 1857 which was once located at the corner of Barnard and Bryan (in the City Market area). He expanded the business by adding a bathhouse, a restaurant, saloon, and oyster bar. The Planters’ Hotel became known for their wine vault and extensive collection of beers and liquors.
In 1877, Gemenden sold the hotel to go into business with a saloon at the corner of St. Julian and Whitaker with his son George Alex. Gemenden bought large barrels of beer and would bottle them for individual sale in his specially designed bottles. He continued running the business until 1886 when George Alex took over.
In 1885, Gemenden had this row of houses built specifically for his entire family, including 818 Barnard Street. He died in 1888 and is currently buried in Bonaventure Cemetery (Section E-0-4).
We could not find the records of those who owned the house directly after The Gemenden Family. We do know that the row of homes from 1885 to now has gone through many generations of owners. The earliest photo of the house we found on the Library of Congress website which does not have a date.
In December 2019, we bought 818 Barnard Street, planning to turn the duplex into a vacation rental and our permanent residence. We want the home to be welcoming and fun – and decided to go with the Rosé All Day theme. When renovating, we stumbled up on lots of old bottles under the house (pictured above) and began researching. How fitting that our wine themed vacation home was originally the home of a bottler, saloon-owner, and restaurant-hotel owner! We love that the home has roots in hospitality!
