Savannah hosted the NAIA college football national championship game from 1996 to 2007, and is home to several places of historical significance, including the Cherry Family Mansion.

Union General Ulysses S. Grant commandeered the Cherry Mansion just off the city square for use as a headquarters during the battle.

Originally a steamboat stop, the Tennessee Valley Authority bought the site in the 1930s during the Great Depression and constructed a dam and Pickwick Lake so electricity could be generated.

In 1969, Tennessee bought 681 acres (276 ha) from the TVA and made it a state park.

[11] Savannah is located just west of the center of Hardin County at 35°13′25″N 88°14′13″W / 35.22361°N 88.23694°W / 35.22361; -88.23694 (35.223674, -88.237011),[12] on the east bank of the Tennessee River.

U.S. Route 64 passes through the center of town on Bridge Avenue, Main Street, and Wayne Road.

Tennessee State Route 69 leads southeast 26 miles (42 km) to the Alabama border.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Savannah has a total area of 6.5 square miles (16.9 km2), all of it recorded as land.