{{Infobox person | name = Anna Colquitt Hunter | image = File:Anna_Colquitt_Hunter.png | caption = Colquitt around 1940, during [[World War II]], when she was a [[Red Cross]] field director | birth_name = Anna Habersham Colquitt | birth_date = January 21, 1892 | birth_place = [[Savannah, Georgia|Savannah]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1985|1|28|1892|1|28}} | death_place = [[Tybee Island]], Georgia, U.S. | occupation = Preservationist, artist }}
'''Anna Habersham Hunter''' ({{nee}} Colquitt; January 21, 1892 – January 28, 1985) was an American preservationist, and a founder of the [[Historic Savannah Foundation]] in 1955.
==Early life== Hunter was a descendant of [[James Habersham]] (1712–1775),<ref>[http://ghs.galileo.usg.edu/ghs/search?f1-subject=Habersham,%20James,%201715-1775 James Habersham] – [[Georgia Historical Society]]</ref> a pioneering merchant and statesman in the [[British North America]]n colony of [[Georgia Colony|Georgia]].<ref>{{Cite book|title = Freedom on My Mind|last = Grey-White|first = Deborah|publisher = Mary V. Dougherty|year = 2013|isbn = 978-0-312-64883-1|location = Boston, MA.|pages = 141}}</ref> She was born in [[Savannah, Georgia]], in 1892, but also grew up in [[South Carolina]].<ref name=gw>[https://www.georgiawomen.org/copy-of-howard-may-dubignon-stiles Anna Colquitt Hunter] – Georgia Women</ref>
She was a graduate of [[Agnes Scott College]], but left to marry George Lewis Cope Hunter, son of James Henry Hunter and Harriet Cope,<ref>''A History of the Glen Family of South Carolina and Georgia'' – [[University of Wisconsin-Madison]], Books on Demand (1923), p. 65 {{isbn|9780608318462}}</ref> who was a student of agriculture at the [[University of Georgia]] in [[Athens, Georgia]].<ref name=gw/> He was registered as a student in 1908.<ref>''Announcement: With a Register of Officers & Students'' – [[University of Georgia]] (1908), p. 189</ref>
George died in 1936, aged 44, leaving his widow with three children to support.<ref name=gw/>
==Career== After her husband's death, Hunter began working for the ''[[Savannah Morning News]]'' and the ''Savannah Evening Press'' as a reporter, columnist and editor.<ref name=gw/>
During [[World War II]], she served as a [[Red Cross]] field director, serving in North Africa and Italy.<ref name=gw/>
After the war, she performed as a dancer and singer, taking her to [[New York City]] in addition to dates in the [[Deep South|South]].<ref name=gw/>
===Historic Savannah Foundation=== {{main|Historic Savannah Foundation}}
In 1954, Savannah's popular [[City Market (Savannah, Georgia)|City Market]] in [[Ellis Square (Savannah, Georgia)|Ellis Square]] was demolished to be replaced by a parking garage, prompting a public outcry.<ref>[https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1124&context=arch_tp ''Savannah Morning News and Evening Press''] – [[Clemson University]], May 1981</ref> The following year, a funeral home was set to purchase the [[Isaiah Davenport House]] in [[Columbia Square, Savannah|Columbia Square]] and tear it down for a parking lot.<ref name=story/> This sparked a movement to start a preservation process in the city.<ref name=story>[https://www.myhsf.org/about-us/our-story/ Our Story] – mhysf.org</ref>
{{blockquote|"What began as an effort to save one house quickly turned into an organized movement that went on to save an entire city." – [[Historic Savannah Foundation]]<ref name=story/>}}
Hunter formed a group with six of her friends to block the demolition of the house and formed the Historic Savannah Foundation. The group managed to raise the $22,500 needed to purchase the property themselves.<ref name=story/>
==Death== Hunter died in 1985, aged 93.<ref>[https://thejohnsoncollection.org/anna-hunter/ The Johnson Collection website, ''Hunter, Anna (1882–1985)'']</ref><ref>[https://eu.savannahnow.com/story/news/2017/10/29/savannah-historic-preservation-movement-founder-anna-hunter-recognized-new/13855531007/ Savannah Morning News website, ''Savannah historic preservation movement founder Anna Hunter recognized by new book, opera'', article by Linda Sickler, dated October 28, 2017]</ref> She is buried with her husband, whom she survived by 49 years, in Savannah's [[Bonaventure Cemetery]].
=== Legacy === In 2024, a monument in Columbia Square was commissioned to honor the seven women who began the preservation movement in Savannah. Alongside Hunter's name will be Katherine Judkins Clark, Elinor Adler Dillard, Lucy Barrow McIntire, Dorothy Ripley Roebling, Nola McEvoy Roos and [[Jane Adair Wright]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lasseter |first=Evan |title=Descendents of Savannah's original seven preservationists pave way for monument in Columbia Square |url=https://www.savannahnow.com/story/news/local/2024/07/03/monument-for-birth-of-savannahs-preservation-movement-set-for-columbia-square/74280672007/ |access-date=2024-07-03 |website=Savannah Morning News |language=en-US}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[https://www.savannahnow.com/accent/news/2017-10-28/savannah-historic-preservation-movement-founder-anna-hunter-recognized-new "Savannah historic preservation movement founder Anna Hunter recognized by new book, opera"] – ''Savannah Morning News'', October 28, 2017 *[http://www.davenporthousemuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/AnnaHunter.pdf Obituary] – ''[[Savannah Morning News]]'', January 29, 1985 *[https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/36867022/anna-habersham-hunter Anna Habersham Hunter Colquitt] – [[Find a Grave]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Anna Colquitt}} [[Category:1892 births]] [[Category:1985 deaths]] [[Category:Writers from Savannah, Georgia]] [[Category:Agnes Scott College alumni]] [[Category:American women historians]] [[Category:20th-century American women writers]] [[Category:American historic preservationists]] [[Category:Burials at Bonaventure Cemetery]]