Savannah's Waving Girl

©Elinor DeWire

The monotony and loneliness of lighthouse life has been depicted in many ways, but the story of Florence Martus of the Elba Island Lights is perhaps the most sensitive portrayal of a woman's devotion to duty.

Elba Island lies at the mouth of the Savannah river, Georgia, and during the closing years of the 19th century its range lights were tended by a disabled Civil War veteran named George M. Martus. Decorated war veterans were often awarded jobs as lighthouse keepers, perhaps as compensation for their physical trauma in defense of their country, although they also might have received the appointment through family connections. This was certainly the case with George Martus. He and his sister, Florence, had grown up sheltered and naive on Cockspur Island, where their widowed father served as keeper of a small government beacon.

Florence Martus made up for the lack of excitement in her childhood by taking an avid interest in local history. After her father died, she went to live with her brother on Elba Island, where he had been assigned as keeper of the two small range beacons that ships used to line their approach to the river channel. It was the first time teenage Florence had traveled any distance from Cockspur Island, and then only a few miles.

Life was pastoral and quiet on Elba Island, except that Fort Pulaski was nearby with its roughneck soldiers and martial activities. Lonely Florence was fascinated with the fort and began giving tours of it to visitors. Everyone was astounded by her long, involved lectures and her extensive knowledge of local history. For young Florence, there was little else to keep her active mind alive and well -- that is until love came into her life.

It was in 1887 when she was 18 and still quite innocent, that a dashing Navy lieutenant visited Elba Island and began romancing her. He was from Cape Cod and had come down from his ship's berth in Savannah to join one of the tours Florence Martus gave at Fort Pulaski. Perhaps he intended to add her to a long list of romantic conquests in various ports around the world. Less likely, he truly fell in love with her but was unable to keep his promise of marriage.

Regardless, after a whirlwind courtship, his ship lifted anchor and he departed Savannah with the assurance that he would return and marry Florence Martus as soon as possible. As a token of his love, he gave her his white Navy neckerchief, which she tearfully waved as his ship passed Elba Island on its way to ports unknown.

After several months and no word from her beau, Florence began to wonder where he was and if he was thinking of her. She thought of him almost constantly and kept the neckerchief close to her heart, anticipating how wonderful it would feel to run down to the riverbank and wave it at his ship as he returned. Every vessel that passed received her earnest scrutiny, even at night, but it was never his ship.

She began waving the neckerchief as if delirious with grief, but soon caught hold of her senses and decided she would wave it at every passing ship in hopes someone who knew her lover would get word to him that she desperately awaited his return. Sailors of all places and nations entering the Savannah River soon were telling each other of the young girl who stood on the riverbank waving her white cloth in greeting. Florence Martus became known as "The Waving Girl of Elba Island." Her obsession then expanded to include swinging a lantern to greet ships at night, often accompanied by her timid collie dog.

Months turned into years, and still no word came from her beloved. By then, the pain of rejection had been replaced by her passion for waving at ships. Newspaper reporters came and went, tourists stared curiously, and cameras flashed. By 1931, when George Martus retired from keeping the lights and gently led away his almost demented sister, Florence had been waving to ships for 44 years!

She remained with her brother until his death, then was placed in a hospital where she died in 1943. Seamen, and the people of Savannah, have never forgotten Florence Martus. A statue on the Savannah waterfront recalls her unselfish devotion -- Frozen in a pose of eternal greeting, the waving figure represents all women who have sacrificed to protect those who brave the sea.

Copyright article and photo, Elinor DeWire

Lighthouse Digest, February 1996