A post office was established at Meldrim in 1890, and is still operating today. It’s located about 18 miles from Savannah and grew as a railroad junction because of its proximity to Georgia’s first city and busiest port.

The city is thought to have been named for Peter Meldrim (1848-1933) or his family. Meldrim was a member of a prominent Irish-American family in Savannah. He served as a colonel in the 1st Georgia Cavalry in the defense of the city against Union troops when he was sixteen, became a respected attorney who served as president of the Georgia Bar Association, served in the state senate, was mayor of Savannah, and a brigadier general in the Georgia National Guard, among many other civic activities. He was also an early and outspoken champion of the education of African-Americans in Georgia. He lived in the National Historic Landmark Green-Meldrim House until his death.

*-Some might identify this as a Georgian Cottage, but the depth of the house and the fact that it has a central hallway make it a shotgun house, in my opinion. It’s one of my favorite houses in Meldrim, plain as it is, and I chose it to represent Meldrim because it’s likely one of the oldest houses still standing in the city.