Flannery O'Connor Childhood Home

I had such a lovely visit to the house during my trip to Savannah this last week! I've been a long time fan after studying her in college and was so excited to see her childhood home was open to tours! The inside has been wonderfully restored to the way it would have been while Flannery lived there. Janie and Jo were so nice and the tour was incredibly informative. I cannot recommend it enough. Even if you're not into Flannery I still highly recommend it because there are a lot of house tours in Savannah and they all show how the wealthy lived. This is the only one to give you a look into the life of the average person. Thank you so much for a wonderful tour and I'll be sure to stop back by whenever I'm in the area again.

Do not miss this fascinating tour and home. Literally the best tour I’ve ever done. Janie (tour director) was so knowledgeable and fun to lead us through the tour and Flannery’s home. We arrived for an 11 am tour, and this was such a highlight. Janie spoke of Flannery, the literature; the history, the artifacts in the home with such passion and interest; she has surely done this for years and spoke with such joy and passion. It was beautiful to hear and to listen to such interesting stories of an interesting, complex person like Flannery. Thank you!!

This was my favorite historic house tour in Savannah! The story of O'Connor's life was told beautifully using the house as a backdrop. It was also interesting to tour a twentieth century home instead of the typical nineteenth century one. I haven't read O'Connor since college, but I left the tour wanting to read her again!

This tour is highly recommended when in Savannah. I’m local to the area and decided to stop by to check it out & was blown away by Janie’s knowledge & passion for Flannery & her childhood home. I learned a lot and really enjoyed the charming architecture & many fantastic stories about Flannery, her upbringing & the Savannah area.

There are many house tours to do in Savannah, GA, and we did many, but the best, by far, was Flannery O’Connor’s childhood home. If you are lucky 🍀 enough to get Cody as your tour guide, you are in for a real treat!! She breathed life into Flannery O’Connor’s personality and into history! If you appreciate the background/making of a writer, you won’t be disappointed.

It’s a charming little house in Savannah’s Historic District!! Admission was free at the time that I went because there was a young woman substituting for the real tour guide! She wanted me to enjoy a self-guided tour of the childhood home of Flannery O’Connor, the author of “Wise Blood”! It took less than 30 minutes to see the entire house, because it’s so small. At the entrance, there is a wall of books and souvenirs in the room by the upstairs entrance. Throughout the 1st floor, there are a few squares which show quotes by Flannery O’Connor, which are truthful with an otherwise comedic twist, meaning she’s being truthful and comical at the same time! Upstairs, is a really small bathroom with a book on top of the toilet, which O’Connor read as a little girl. The toilet is decorated with flowers!! 😂😂 On that same floor, there is a scary-looking baby doll on a rocking chair and a crib that looks identical to a chicken coup!😂😂😂. I’ve learned from the substitute guide (who was truly friendly and accommodating) that when Flannery O’Connor turned 6 years old, she decided that she was no longer a (little) child and donated all of her toys to another family, keeping just one toy, which happened to be the demonic doll. She died at the age of just 39 years of Lupus, on August 3, 1964.

I love reading her work so it was cool to see her childhood home.

This was such a wonderful way to get to learn more about one of Savannah’s most incredible minds. Even if you have never read any of Flannery O’Connor’s work, hearing about her fascinating and (sadly) shortened life will have you wanting to pick up one of her short stories right after. Thank you to our wonderful tour guide, Janie, who clearly had an immense appreciation for Flannery’s life and life’s work. Couldn’t recommend this tour enough!!

This was by far the best “historic birthplace” type tour we have ever experienced. Thoughtful interweaving of the story of the home with the story of O’Connor, and reverent but not doting descriptions of her life and personality. Highly recommend!

Jo was a great tour guide with many wonderful insights to the young life of Flannery O'Connor!

This was such a delight to visit. Our tour guide was incredible, extremely knowledgeable and animated and so great with kids. I regret I didn't catch her name! I learned so much about one of my favorite author's formative childhood. This is a must-see for literature lovers in Savannah.

Found out about this place at the last minute and got there at 4, an hour after that last scheduled tour. There happened to be no one else in the museum so the director, Janie, generously gave my friend and me an impromptu tour. The tour was so engaging and interesting; Janie knew a lot and her admiration for Flannery was endearing and contagious. Came in as a big fan of MFOC and left a big fan of her and her backwards-walking chicken :)

Fantastic tour for fans and those not familiar with Flannery O’Connor’s work. Wonderful details—very interesting and fun. This is one of the most engaging house tours in Savannah. Wonderful.

Visiting this small row house, right across Lafayette Square from the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, was a highlight of our weekend in Savannah. The tour will fascinate not only literature lovers, but anyone interested in the history of Savannah. Colorful and often funny stories about Flannery's childhood brought her vibrant personality to life and gave a lot of insight into the writer she went on to become. The house is full of period furniture the family actually used in the 1920s and 30s, and we loved learning more about the history of Savannah during the Great Depression in relation to Flannery's life. Janie, our guide, was an amazing storyteller and gave the tour so much love and enthusiasm that an hour went by without us even noticing. We hope to return the next time we are in town.

A must see for Flannery O'Connor fans! I really enjoyed the tour and learned a lot more about Flannery. The guide and the staff were great!

Loved, loved the tour of Flannery O'Connor's childhood home. The tour guide, Janey, was so lovely and knowledgeable! This was definitely a highlight in my visit to Savannah!

This tour/house is my favorite thing in savannah!! Janie gave the most fabulous fun and informative tour full of incredible specific details about the one and only. Come for the history, stay for the chicken stories :)

So cool that we found this gem on our trip to Savannah. House is resorted historically accurate to the period when Flannery occupied the house. The guide was impressively knowledgeable about the house and the author. Flannery's childhood home lends great insight into the author that she would later become. I love that green paint in the living room! 😊

Knowledgeable guide, whose passion for O’Connor and her work was infectious. Made us appreciate and understand this great writer even more

Wonderful house and tour! Our guide not only covered O'Connor's early life and how her upbringing influenced her writing, but how these events connected to the broader history of Savannah. This is a great site, and should be approachable and interesting to all visitors.