Little Gracie Watson

Little Gracie Watson was born in 1883, the only child of W.J. and Frances Watson. Mr. Watson managed the Pulaski House, which was one of Savannah's leading hotels at that time. Gracie often played the role of hostess at many of the parties her mother hosted for Savannah’s elite high society women. She enjoyed being the center of attention, however the parties would often soon bore her and she would return to her play. It was said that the women enjoyed the parties, especially charming little Gracie, and when she would disappear to play (often underneath the stairwells at the back of the hotel) the ladies would ask “Where’s Gracie?” When Gracie had left the party many took that as a signal that the party wasn’t fun anymore and they would all soon depart. Gracie also charmed the guest at the hotel, but she was mainly the “apple” of her father’s eye.

Tragically, a few days before Easter, in April 1889, Gracie died of pneumonia at the age of six. Her parents were distraught with grief. Mr. Watson kept little Gracie’s body in her room at the hotel for five days before allowing any funeral plans. After her burial, he commissioned a local rising sculptor, John Walz, to carve a life-sized monument from a favorite photograph of Little Gracie. This delicately detailed statue of Georgia marble now stands in the infamous Bonaventure Cemetery where it has captured the interest of thousands for almost a century.

Mr. and Mrs. Watson were never the same after losing Gracie. W.J. slipped into a deep depression and the couple finally moved from Savannah – leaving Little Gracie alone. It is said that folks have heard a child softly sobbing at her gravesite, perhaps Gracie missing her lost parents. Others say they have seen tears run down the statue’s face or caught a glimpse of her turning her head. There have been many recorded sightings of a little girl believed to be Little Gracie around Savannah. Most of these sightings have been in the building of the old Pulaski House Hotel on West Bryan also near Bay Street and the Riverfront.

Little Gracie’s precious life was cut way too short, but she did leave memories for those she knew in this physical world. Now it seems that she continues to leave her tiny footprints in the spiritual world. Daniel may have caught a glimpse of Little Gracie in an abandoned shop late one evening only a few streets over from the site of Gracie’s former home at the Pulaski Hotel. Even if this little girl isn’t Gracie Watson – she still shares her beauty and charm with us in this amazing photo.