How the Girl Scouts Began in Savannah: The Story of Juliette Gordon Low
Savannah has given the world plenty of stories.
But one of its most influential began with 18 girls and a 51-year-old Savannah woman named Juliette Gordon Low.
On March 12, 1912, Low organized the first Girl Scout troop in her hometown of Savannah, Georgia. Her idea was fairly radical for its time: give girls opportunities to get outdoors, develop practical skills, serve their communities, become leaders and discover what they were capable of doing for themselves.
More than a century later, that small gathering has become one of the most recognizable youth organizations in the United States.
And remarkably, many of the places where that story began are still standing.
You can visit the house where Juliette Gordon Low was born.
Walk through the home where she lived as an adult.
Step inside the carriage house that became the first Girl Scout headquarters.
And if you're staying at Hamilton-Turner Inn, some of that history is quite literally right outside your door.
Who Was Juliette Gordon Low?
Juliette Magill Kinzie Gordon Low was born in Savannah on October 31, 1860.
Her family called her “Daisy,” a nickname that stayed with her throughout her life.
She grew up in a prominent Savannah family and developed a lifelong love of painting, sculpture and other forms of art. She also experienced a series of injuries that resulted in significant hearing loss, but she continued traveling, creating art and pursuing an unusually active life for a woman of her social position and era.
At age 26, Daisy married William Mackay Low, son of wealthy Savannah businessman Andrew Low.
The marriage took her frequently to England, and although it ultimately became unhappy, those years abroad would unexpectedly lead Daisy toward the work that defined the rest of her life.
Because it was in England that she encountered something new.
Scouting.
How Did Juliette Gordon Low Get the Idea for Girl Scouts?
In 1911, Juliette Gordon Low met Sir Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scouts movement.
She became fascinated with the idea behind scouting: teaching young people practical skills, encouraging outdoor adventure, building independence and developing character.
There was also a growing sister organization in Britain called the Girl Guides.
Daisy became involved.
And unlike some of the other interests she'd pursued throughout her life, this one stuck.
She began working with Girl Guide groups in Britain and quickly became convinced that American girls deserved the same opportunities.
Then she returned home to Savannah.
And got to work.
When Were the Girl Scouts Founded?
March 12, 1912.
That is the date Girl Scouts recognizes as the beginning of the American movement.
Juliette Gordon Low gathered 18 girls in Savannah and organized the country's first Girl Scout troop.
At first, the organization followed the British example and was known as the American Girl Guides.
By 1913, the name had changed to Girl Scouts.
What had started as a small Savannah experiment was beginning to become something considerably larger.
Why Was the Idea of Girl Scouts So Different in 1912?
It's worth remembering what America looked like at the time.
Women would not gain the constitutional right to vote nationwide until 1920.
Expectations for girls—particularly girls from middle- and upper-class families—were often dramatically different from those for boys.
And then along came Daisy.
Girl Scouts were encouraged to:
Hike.
Camp.
Swim.
Play basketball.
Learn first aid.
Study the outdoors.
Navigate using the stars.
Serve their communities.
And, importantly, develop confidence in their own abilities.
Girl Scouts describes Low's early vision as one designed to bring girls into the outdoors, community service and activities that expanded what society considered possible for them.
That might sound completely normal today.
In 1912, it was much more progressive.
Daisy Wanted Girls to Actually Lead
Juliette Gordon Low wasn't merely creating another social club.
She wanted girls to participate.
Make decisions.
Try things.
Fail occasionally.
Learn practical skills.
Lead one another.
And discover interests beyond what was traditionally expected of them.
Official Girl Scout histories describe her early troops as crossing boundaries of class and background and eventually creating opportunities for girls with disabilities as well.
Daisy herself understood something about being underestimated.
She was a woman launching a national organization in her fifties.
She was also substantially deaf.
Neither stopped her.
How Did Girl Scouts Grow From Savannah?
Quickly.
Low poured herself into the movement.
She recruited friends and family.
She traveled extensively.
She found adult volunteers.
She helped establish troops outside Savannah.
She supervised development of the organization's first handbook and initially provided much of the financial support herself.
By 1925, more than 90,000 girls were active Girl Scouts in the United States.
Think about that growth for a moment.
Thirteen years earlier?
Eighteen girls in Savannah.
That's quite a return on an idea.
Where Did Girl Scout History Happen in Savannah?
This is where the story becomes especially interesting for someone visiting Savannah today.
Girl Scout history isn't represented by one commemorative plaque somewhere outside town.
The actual buildings are here.
And several of the most important are concentrated within Savannah's Historic District.
Stop #1: Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace
10 East Oglethorpe Avenue
Start where Daisy's story started.
The Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace is the Savannah home where she was born in 1860.
The Federal-era house was completed in 1821 and eventually became the Gordon family home after Daisy's grandparents acquired it in 1831. Multiple generations of the Gordon family lived there.
Today, the property operates as a museum dedicated to Juliette Gordon Low, early Girl Scouting, women's history and the world in which Daisy lived.
The collection even contains some of Low's own paintings, sculptures, drawings and metalwork, along with archival materials dating to the earliest Girl Scout troops.
And there is another preservation story here worth mentioning.
By the 1950s, the house had been divided into apartments and fallen into considerable disrepair.
Girl Scouts around the country helped raise money to purchase and restore it.
The restored Birthplace officially opened in 1956, giving generations of girls an opportunity to visit the Savannah home where Daisy's life began.
Best for: Understanding Juliette Gordon Low as a person—not simply as the name attached to Girl Scouts.
Stop #2: Andrew Low House
329 Abercorn Street at Lafayette Square
Then come back toward Lafayette Square.
The Andrew Low House became Juliette Gordon Low's adult Savannah home and played a central role during the formative years of Girl Scouting.
Built in the 1840s for her father-in-law, Andrew Low, the Italianate mansion later became Daisy's home following the settlement of her husband's estate.
It was while living here that Low launched the Girl Scout movement in Savannah.
She continued living at the house while the young organization expanded across the country.
And this is where the Hamilton-Turner connection becomes especially interesting.
Andrew Low House and Hamilton-Turner Inn are both located directly on Lafayette Square.
If you're staying at Hamilton-Turner, you're sleeping within steps of one of the most significant places in the history of Girl Scouting.
Lafayette Square Was Part of Daisy's Neighborhood
This wasn't an attraction Juliette Gordon Low occasionally visited.
It was home.
She lived here.
She walked these streets.
The Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist stood nearby.
Lafayette Square was outside.
And directly behind the Low property was a carriage house that Daisy saw as something much more useful.
Stop #3: Girl Scout First Headquarters
330 Drayton Street
Shortly after the first Girl Guide meeting in 1912, Low converted the carriage house behind her Savannah home into headquarters for the new organization.
When the group's name changed from Girl Guides to Girl Scouts in 1913, the building became known as the Girl Scout First Headquarters.
The building was used for troop meetings, training and administration for decades.
And when Daisy died in 1927, she left the original headquarters to Savannah's Girl Scouts.
Today, the building at 330 Drayton Street remains associated with Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia and serves as a museum, activity center and historic Girl Scout site.
Think about how unusual that is.
More than a century after Girl Scouting began, visitors can still stand inside the little carriage house that helped a Savannah idea become a national organization.
Savannah Has an Entire Juliette Gordon Low Historic District
The historical connection between these buildings is so significant that the Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace, Andrew Low House and Girl Scout First Headquarters together form the Juliette Gordon Low Historic District, recognized as a National Historic Landmark.
For Girl Scouts and alumnae visiting Savannah, that makes the city something of a pilgrimage destination.
You aren't visiting a reconstruction.
You're walking through Daisy's Savannah.
And because these sites are concentrated in the Historic District, you can experience much of the story on foot.
What Happened to Juliette Gordon Low?
Daisy continued working with Girl Scouts for the rest of her life.
She stepped down as national president in 1920 and took the title of Founder, while continuing to support the movement and its growing international connections.
In 1923, she was diagnosed with cancer.
She kept the illness largely private and continued working and traveling.
Juliette Gordon Low died at her Savannah home on Lafayette Square on January 17, 1927.
She was buried in Laurel Grove Cemetery wearing her Girl Scout uniform. According to historical accounts, a telegram from Girl Scout leadership was placed in her pocket declaring that she was not only the first Girl Scout, but the best of them all.
The organization she left behind continued.
And grew.
And became part of the childhoods of generations of American girls.
Why Do Girl Scouts Still Visit Savannah?
Because Savannah is where the story becomes real.
A Girl Scout can know Juliette Gordon Low's name.
She can learn March 12, 1912.
She can read about the first troop.
But there's something different about walking through Daisy's house.
Seeing her artwork.
Standing in the first headquarters.
Looking across the same Lafayette Square she once saw outside her home.
The Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace continues to welcome Girl Scouts and troops traveling from around the country, and its programming is specifically designed to connect today's girls with the history of the movement.
Savannah isn't simply where Girl Scouts were founded.
It's one of the few places where you can still physically follow the movement back to its beginning.
Staying on Lafayette Square Puts You Inside the Story
And that brings us back to Hamilton-Turner.
If Girl Scout history is part of the reason you're traveling to Savannah, Hamilton-Turner Inn could hardly be better positioned.
The inn sits at 330 Abercorn Street on Lafayette Square.
Juliette Gordon Low's adult home, the Andrew Low House, is right there on the same square.
The Girl Scout First Headquarters sits immediately behind the Low property on Drayton Street.
And the Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace is a short walk through Savannah's Historic District.
You don't need to spend the morning driving from attraction to attraction.
Have breakfast at Hamilton-Turner.
Walk outside.
And start exploring.
A Girl Scout History Day From Hamilton-Turner Inn
If we were building the day, we'd keep it simple.
Morning: Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace
After a chef-prepared breakfast at Hamilton-Turner, walk through the Historic District to the Birthplace.
Spend the morning learning who Daisy was before she became the founder of an international movement.
See the house.
Explore the collection.
Look at her art.
Understand the woman behind the name.
Afternoon: Return to Lafayette Square
Walk back toward the inn and visit the Andrew Low House.
This is the part of Daisy's life where the Girl Scout story really begins to accelerate.
Then make the short walk around the property to Girl Scout First Headquarters.
Birthplace.
Adult home.
First headquarters.
Three chapters of one story.
All in historic Savannah.
Evening: Come Home to Hamilton-Turner
Then you're back on Lafayette Square.
Return to Hamilton-Turner for afternoon refreshments and the inn's evening wine reception before heading out for dinner.
And for a few minutes, simply sit on the square.
Because the next time you see a Girl Scout troop selling cookies back home, Savannah will probably mean something a little different.
One Savannah Woman. Eighteen Girls. More Than a Century of History.
There was no way Juliette Gordon Low could have known exactly what Girl Scouts would become when she gathered that first group in Savannah in 1912.
She just believed girls deserved more opportunities.
More adventure.
More responsibility.
More confidence.
More room to become leaders.
And then she did something about it.
That is the part of Savannah's Girl Scout history we find most compelling.
The movement didn't begin in a corporate office.
It began in someone's neighborhood.
In historic homes.
Around a carriage house.
On streets people still walk today.
And more than a century later, Lafayette Square is still here. Daisy's home is still here. The first headquarters is still here.
So is Hamilton-Turner Inn.
Stay with us, walk outside and discover the Savannah neighborhood where one woman's idea became a movement.
Frequently Asked Questions About Girl Scouts in Savannah
Were the Girl Scouts founded in Savannah?
Yes. Juliette Gordon Low organized the first Girl Scout troop in Savannah, Georgia, on March 12, 1912.
Who founded the Girl Scouts?
Juliette Gordon “Daisy” Low, a Savannah native born in 1860, founded the organization after becoming involved with the Girl Guide movement in Great Britain.
How many girls were in the first Girl Scout troop?
Girl Scouts recognizes the first Savannah troop as beginning with 18 girls in 1912.
Why was Juliette Gordon Low called Daisy?
“Daisy” was a childhood nickname given to Juliette Gordon Low by a family member, and it remained the name used by friends and family throughout her life.
Can you visit Juliette Gordon Low's birthplace?
Yes. The Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace at 10 East Oglethorpe Avenue operates as a museum and historic site in downtown Savannah.
Where did Juliette Gordon Low live when she founded Girl Scouts?
Low lived at the Andrew Low House at 329 Abercorn Street on Lafayette Square during the early years of Girl Scouting.
Can you visit the first Girl Scout headquarters?
Yes. Girl Scout First Headquarters is located at 330 Drayton Street in Savannah and remains a Girl Scout historic site, museum and program space.
Is Girl Scout First Headquarters near Hamilton-Turner Inn?
Yes. Both are located in the Lafayette Square area of Savannah's Historic District. Hamilton-Turner is at 330 Abercorn Street, while First Headquarters is at 330 Drayton Street behind the Andrew Low House property.
What Girl Scout sites should I visit in Savannah?
The three essential sites are the Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace, Andrew Low House and Girl Scout First Headquarters. Together they preserve different chapters of Juliette Gordon Low's life and the founding of Girl Scouts.
Where should Girl Scout families and troops stay in Savannah?
Staying in Savannah's Historic District makes it easy to reach the city's major Girl Scout landmarks on foot. Hamilton-Turner Inn is especially close to the Andrew Low House and First Headquarters because all three are located around Lafayette Square.
