The Willink House

Posted: 06.08.2021 | Updated: 02.05.2025

The Willink House is something of an outlier. It’s not a large extravagant mansion. There’s no ornate architecture. The small, white cottage looks more at home in Cape Cod than the Deep South. Yet, this cute little house packs some interesting secrets.

This quaint Savannah, Georgia home was once the home of influential shipbuilder Henry Willink, who built some of the Confederacy’s largest, but not always functional, ironclad ships during the Civil War.

Willink’s company built the C.S.S. Georgia, which was scoffed at by many, as it was too clunky to put up a real fight despite being armed to the teeth. The C.S.S. Savannah didn’t fare much better. Even through the mistakes, Willink prospered.

Willink’s first wife, Jane, was supportive of his endeavors but tragically lost her life at his Savannah shipyard. Rumor has it, her spirit still haunts his home and the shipyard.

There is another rumor that the Willink House was once home to the Deveaux School, a clandestine school for African American children that were taught in secret by a white school teacher. She would reward the children for completing their lessons by bribing them with candy and other goodies.

This rumor, however, is completely unfounded and debunked. The locations for both buildings were completely different and built nearly a decade apart.

Why is The Willink House Haunted?

The Willink House in Savannah has a haunting reputation that sends chills down the spines of even the bravest ghost hunters. This historic home, dating back to the 1800s, is said to be haunted by the lingering presence of its former residents—most notably, Henry Willink, a prominent shipbuilder. Some say his restless spirit still roams the halls, keeping an eye on his beloved home.

His wife’s spirit still haunts the Willink House as well, after her sudden fall and subsequent death at Henry’s shipyard. Neighbors say they still hear the sound of the door slamming shut along with Henry Willink’s phantom footsteps as his ghost takes off toward the shipyard in the dead of night.

Visitors and past occupants have reported eerie footsteps echoing through empty rooms, doors opening and closing on their own, and a ghostly figure appearing in windows late at night. Some even claim to hear the distant sounds of hammering, as if the spirits of shipbuilders from long ago are still hard at work.

Whether it’s the energy of Savannah’s past or something truly supernatural, booking a tour in the heart of Savannah promises a hauntingly mysterious and spine-tingling experience.

Willink & Miller

Henry Willink was born to a German immigrant named Frederick Willink, a merchant who had done well by working until becoming wealthy. Willink Sr. had a shipyard, and his son Henry followed in his footsteps. Henry left for New York to learn the tools of the trade, then returned to Savannah in 1851, ready to open his own shipyard in Savannah. Willink had his house built upon his arrival to the city, and possibly even before, as records indicate the house was dated as early as 1845.

Henry went into business with his associate, Arthur Miller. They named their company Willink & Miller and got to work building large ships. They two became wildly successful, so much so that the Confederacy contracted them to build their ironclads during the Civil War.

The Confederates relied on European shipyards to have their largest gunboats built, and so need a domestic shipyard to build ships that could hold their own against the Union. Willink & Miller were sure they could deliver.

The C.S.S. Georgia

Except, they didn’t. Their first gift to the Confederates was the C.S.S. Georgia, also known as the Ladies Gunboat. At a whopping $115,000, equal to over $1.8 million today, one would expect a first-class ship. Unfortunately for the Confederates, the vessel was a clunky mess.

The C.S.S. Georgia was so dense with armor and artillery that it just wasn’t practical. They attracted the ire of the public when the ship was seen sailing down the Savannah River. The company launched a PR campaign as damage control, claiming that the ship was meant to function as a floating battery and not a warship. Nobody was buying it.

Deep in the nightmare of their first failure, Willink & Miller were already working on the second ironclad ship for the Confederacy. This time, they were poised to learn from the mistakes of their last project. But they didn’t. The C.S.S. Savannah didn’t do much better.

Like its predecessor, it was large, clunky, and difficult to maneuver down coastal Georgia’s narrow, windy rivers. And God forbid you were called to man the Savannah; the interior was hot and humid and leaked. Crew members complained that being inside the ship was like standing dead center in the middle of the swamp.

The C.S.S. Savannah did provide some use to the Confederates, but they sunk the ship themselves in 1864. This was presumably to save face in case the Union forces captured the ship and hoped for something useful.

Both the Georgia and the Savannah were destroyed near the Old Fort Jackson, a historic Civil War site in Savannah that doubles as a campground, to prevent capture.

Tragedy and Ghosts at the Willink House

The love Henry had for his wife Jane was the driving force behind much of his success. But for Mrs. Willink, it would be Henry’s passion for his work that would be her undoing. Henry desperately wanted her to see what he spent so much of his time working on, so he begged her to take a trip to the shipyard with him.

After arriving at the yard, things were going well. Henry gave his wife a tour around the premises. Suddenly, while climbing up a flight of stairs, Mrs. Willink tripped and fell over the side of a railing, falling into the Savannah River. Henry rushed to save her but didn’t make it in time.

Mrs. Willink’s skirt and heavy dress weighed her down, and she could not swim to safety. She drowned as she fought against the current, leaving Henry devastated and alone.

In the coming years, Henry worked even harder as he tried to forget the death of his wife. He often saw her ghost in the middle of the night. He would run out of his house, slamming the door behind him as he ran off to the shipyard.

One night, he saw his wife’s ghost at the shipyard. She hovered just past the rail where she fell. He reached out to touch her and fell over the rails into the river. Nearly suffering the same fate, Willink could pull himself to safety. Willink passed peacefully in his home in 1873, but clearly never left.

Neighbors say they still hear the sounds of Henry Willink running off to work, hearing the door slam shut and his phantom footsteps running off, even when the house is empty.

Haunted Savannah

Believe it or not, there’s a lot more to Savannah besides Civil War battles and historical architecture. The Savannah Theater has been bringing fine arts and live performances to the city for over 200 years, and even today, you can still catch a musical at the historic theatre. You also might run into the ghost of a young boy named Ben, who is known to harass and play pranks on unsuspecting audience members.

Loving the Deep South? Read up on the top ten most haunted spots in Georgia right here!

Book your tour with Savannah Terrors to get an insider scoop and in-person look at some of these spots while you’re in the city. Follow our blog, Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram for more spooky places!

Sources:

• https://savannahhistory.home.blog/2019/08/18/correcting-bad-history-the-willink-house-never-a-black-school-and-never-owned-by-the-deveaux-family/
• https://vanishinggeorgia.com/2017/07/05/henry-willink-cottage-1845-savannah/
• https://emergingcivilwar.com/2016/02/23/past-and-present-the-css-georgia/
• https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1105&context=sav-bios-lane