Waving Girl Statue
Riverfront Plaza
Savannah GA
2007

Florence Martus (1868-1943) is remembered by this statue showing her greeting ships as they came in.

Tribute to Florence Martus, a Savannahian who is perhaps better known in worldwide maritime communities than in her own. From 1887 to 1931, she greeted ships entering Savannah by waving a cloth at approaching ships from the lighthouse on Cockspur Island, in search of her long lost lover. Her fame spread and ships would return her greetings with a blast from the ship's horn. Many still sound a salute to her statue.

https://www.savannahnow.com/story/lifestyle/2021/06/23/waving-girl-statue-dedicated-savannahs-patron-saint-hospitality-port-cockspur-island-dog-handkerchie/7775611002/

For many kind-hearted people the impulse to throw a friendly wave to passing ships is pretty strong, but one local Savannah woman made it her unofficial lifelong duty.

Florence Martus was known to Savannahians and sailors around the world as the waving girl. For much of her life, Florence was the first person ships saw when they entered the harbor, making her essentially the Hostess City’s patron saint of southern hospitality.

Born in 1869 on Cockspur Island, Florence was the daughter of Sgt. John H. Martus. Sgt. Martus was stationed at Fort Pulaski after the Civil War to oversee repairs from Union bombardment. As a teenager Florence moved into a remote cottage on the bank of the Savannah River with her brother George, a lighthouse keeper who had been transferred from Cockspur Island Lighthouse to Elba Island Lighthouse, where they lived a rather lonely and solitary life.

From an early age, Florence had waved to ships as they entered Savannah Harbor, and that habit became a personal duty by the time she moved onto Elba Island. With her loyal collie by her side, Florence would greet every passing ship with a wave of her handkerchief or table cloth during the day and with a lantern at night. The ships would return the greeting with a blast of their horn and her reputation began to spread amongst sailors across the globe. This tradition continued for 44 years and by the time she retired in 1931, it was estimated that Florence had waved to over 50,000 ships without missing one.

Local lore suggests that Florence waved to every ship in the hopes that the Yankee sailor she had fallen in love with when she was young would one day return. There are many ghost stories, as well, that suggest that Florence’s spirit still wanders Elba Island, waving a tattered silk handkerchief, forlornly waiting for her lover. The stories of Florence’s unrequited love may be heartbreakingly romantic, but it’s more likely that she waved to ships because she was merely lonely and enjoyed the attention and gifts from the sailors.

Florence passed away on February 8, 1943 and is buried in Laurel Grove Cemetery next to her brother and parents.

In 1943, a Liberty ship built in Savannah was named the SS Florence Martus in her honor. A bronze statue of Florence Martus, sculpted by famed artist Felix De Weldon (who also created the Iwo Jima Monument) was erected in 1972 on River Street in Morell Park. Facing the river, the 9-foot statue depicts Florence and her dog waving her handkerchief, so that the waving girl can continue the tradition of welcoming ships to Savannah.