The first group of Salzburger immigrants who came to America was aboard the ship "Purysburg" reaching Charleston, S.C., first and then arriving in Savannah on March 12, 1734. The Georgia Salzburger Society, established in 1925 to keep the memory of the Salzburgers and the lost town of Ebenezer alive, celebrates the Saturday closest to March 12th as "Landing Day."

The Georgia Salzburger Society has meetings twice a year: the widely known Labor Day Festival on Labor Day and Landing Day celebrated this year on March 10. At 2 p.m. in Jerusalem Church, Vince Exley, member of the Greater Atlanta Chapter of the GSS, will address the Society regarding the GSS special genealogical project, attempting to locate specific areas of origin in present-day Germany and Austria, of the various Salzburger families.

From 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on March 10, the congregation of Jerusalem Lutheran Church will hold a Salzburger Arts and Crafts Festival on the church grounds, 2966 Ebenezer Road, near Rincon. The Salzburger Museum, Fail House and Old Parsonage are on this site. Live demonstrations, tours, arts, crafts and food will be available on Saturday. You are invited to attend and bring your children for special activities planned for them including make and take crafts. This festival is not limited to the Salzburger descendants; everyone is welcome.

Huge numbers of people are descended from the Lutheran Salzburgers. It is indeed wonderful that we keep our history alive through the Georgia Salzburger Society’s meetings and festivals, keeping the stories of our rich heritage active.