Eli Whitney Elementary School, situated on a site formerly knows as Rosin Field, in the northeast section of the Pine Gardens neighborhood, opened for classes in September 1953.

Rosin Field was known by that name because of its use years earlier as the Atlantic Coastline Railroad rosin yard. Barren of trees and with subsoil laden with chunks of rosin, the spot was a favored playing area for kids living in Pine Gardens, Deptford Homes, Tattnall Homes and Moses Rogers Ridge.

The Rosin Field property, then 34 vacant lots (6.2 acres total), was purchased by the Savannah-Chatham County Board of Education on July 16, 1951, for $23,800. Plans and specifications for the 20-room school were approved on May 22, 1952. Construction followed, and the school opened 16 months later. Total project cost was approximately $390,000.