Oglethorpe Square is one of the
22 squares of Savannah, Georgia, United States. It is located in the second row of the city's five rows of squares, on
Abercorn Street
Abercorn Street is a prominent street in Savannah, Georgia, United States. Located between Drayton Street to the west and Lincoln Street to the east, it runs for about from East Bay Street (Savannah, Georgia), Bay Street in the north to Georgi ...
and East President Street, and was laid out in 1742. It is south of
Reynolds Square, west of
Columbia Square
CBS Columbia Square (also called Columbia Studio) was the home of CBS's Los Angeles radio and television operations from 1938 until 2007. Located at 6121 Sunset Boulevard in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States, th ...
, north of
Colonial Park Cemetery
Colonial Park Cemetery (locally and informally known as Colonial Cemetery; historically known as the Old Cemetery[Wright Square
Wright Square is one of the Squares of Savannah, Georgia, 22 squares of Savannah, Georgia, United States. It is located in the second row of the city's five rows of squares, on Bull Street and President Street, and was laid out in 1733 as one of ...](_blank)
. The oldest building on the square is the
Owens–Thomas House
The Owens–Thomas House & Slave Quarters (originally known as the Richardson House) is a historic home in Savannah, Georgia, that is operated as a historic house museum by Telfair Museums. It is located at 124 Abercorn Street, on the northeast ...
, at 124 Abercorn Street, which dates 1819.
[
Upper New Square, as it was originally known, was laid out in 1742 and was later renamed in honor of Georgia founder General ]James Oglethorpe
Lieutenant-General James Edward Oglethorpe (22 December 1696 – 30 June 1785) was a British Army officer, Tory politician and colonial administrator best known for founding the Province of Georgia in British North America. As a social refo ...
, although his statue is located in Chippewa Square
Chippewa Square is one of the Squares of Savannah, Georgia, 22 squares of Savannah, Georgia, United States. It is located in the middle row of the city's five rows of squares, on Bull Street and McDonough Street, and was laid out in 1815. It is s ...
, to the southwest.
The home of Georgia's first Royal Governor, John Reynolds, was located on the southeastern trust lot (now a parking lot of The Presidents' Quarters Inn) overlooking the square. Reynolds arrived in Savannah on October 29, 1754.
The residences of the Royal Surveyors of Georgia and South Carolina were located on the northeastern trust lots, the site of today's Owens–Thomas House
The Owens–Thomas House & Slave Quarters (originally known as the Richardson House) is a historic home in Savannah, Georgia, that is operated as a historic house museum by Telfair Museums. It is located at 124 Abercorn Street, on the northeast ...
. The Presidents' Quarters Inn, a 16-room historic bed and breakfast, is located in the southeastern trust lot.
The square contains a pedestal
A pedestal or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In civil engineering, it is also called ''basement''. The minimum height o ...
honoring Moravian missionaries who arrived at the same time as John Wesley
John Wesley ( ; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a principal leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies ...
and settled in Savannah from 1735 to 1740, before resettling in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
.[City of Savannah's monuments page]
This page links directly to numerous short entries, many accompanied by photographs, discussing a variety of monuments, memorials, etc., in the squares and elsewhere. Accessed June 16, 2007.[Chan Sieg (1984). ''The squares: an introduction to Savannah''. ]Virginia Beach
Virginia Beach (colloquially VB) is the List of cities in Virginia, most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in southeaster ...
: Donning.[''Our Coast's'' guide to Savannah's Squares]
accessed June 16, 2007. Site features an excellent interactive map of Savannah's squares and numerous photographs.
A Savannah veterans' group had unsuccessfully proposed erecting a memorial to veterans of World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
in Oglethorpe Square[Tour Guide Manual]
for licensed tour guides in the City of Savannah, accessed June 16, 2007. It was instead installed on River Street.
The Unitarian Universalist Church was originally based on the square, prior to its move to the western side of Troup Square, a to the southeast.
Dedication
Markers and structures
Constituent buildings
Each building below is in one of the eight blocks around the square composed of four residential "tything" blocks and four civic ("trust") blocks, now known as the Oglethorpe Plan
The Oglethorpe Plan is an urban planning idea that was most notably used in Savannah, Georgia, one of the Thirteen Colonies, in the 18th century. The plan uses a distinctive street network with repeating squares of residential blocks, commercia ...
. They are listed with construction years where known.
;Northwestern civic/trust block
*Cluskey Building, 123 Abercorn Street, the now-demolished parsonage
A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, pa ...
for Troup Square's Unitarian Universalist Church[''Unitarian Congregations in Ante-Bellum Georgia'': The Georgia Historical Quarterly, Vol. 54, No. 2 (Summer, 1970), p. 163 – ]Georgia Historical Society
The Georgia Historical Society (GHS) is a statewide historical society in Georgia, United States. Headquartered in Savannah, Georgia, GHS is one of the oldest historical organizations in the United States. Since 1839, the society has collected, ex ...
*Standard Oil Building, 110 East President Street (1924)
;Southwestern civic/trust block
* Mary Marshall Houses, 127–129 Abercorn Street (1840s)[
He also states, possibly incorrectly, that the properties were designed by Charles B. Cluskey.
;Southwestern residential/tything block
*Marine Hospital, 115 East York Street (1907)
;Northeastern residential/tything block
*Graham Apartment Building, 210 East State Street (1924)
*216 East State Street (1912)
*Michael Lyons Property, 220–224 East State Street (1893)
;Northeastern civic/trust block
*]Owens–Thomas House
The Owens–Thomas House & Slave Quarters (originally known as the Richardson House) is a historic home in Savannah, Georgia, that is operated as a historic house museum by Telfair Museums. It is located at 124 Abercorn Street, on the northeast ...
, 124 Abercorn Street (1819)[ – oldest building on the square
;Southeastern civic/trust block
*Gordon–Anderson Building, 127–131 Lincoln Street (1855) – by John Scudder; now the Presidents' Quarter Inn
;Southeastern residential/tything block
*Henry Dickerson Duplex, 201–203 East York Street (1853)][Historic Building Map: Savannah Historic District]
– Historic Preservation Department of the Chatham County-Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission (November 17, 2011), p. 25
* James Mills House, 205 East York Street (1855)[
*Jane Young House, 211 East York Street (1853)][
*John Feely Duplex, 217–219 East York Street (1872)
*Charles Landershine House, 221 East York Street (1856)
*Joseph Sognier Property (1), 133–135 Lincoln Street (1886) – by P.J. Fallon
*Joseph Sognier Property (2), 139–141 Lincoln Street (1886) – by P.J. Fallon
]
Gallery
File:210 East State Street.jpg, Graham Apartment Building, 210 East State Street
File:216 East State Street.jpg, 216 East State Street
File:220-224 East State Street.jpg, Michael Lyons Property, 220–224 East State Street
File:Johnson Square in Savannah, Georgia (4350990934).jpg, Looking west to the Mary Marshall Houses
File:Mary Marshall Houses, 127-129 Abercorn Street, Savannah, Chatham County, GA.jpg, Mary Marshall Houses, 127–129 Abercorn Street[
File:Henry Dickerson Duplex, 201-203 East York Street.jpg, Henry Dickerson Duplex, 201–203 East York Street
File:James Mills House.jpg, James Mills House, 205 East York Street
File:Jane Young House.jpg, Jane Young House, 211 East York Street
File:Owens-Thomas House Slave Quarters.jpg, The rear of the Owens–Thomas House on Lincoln Street
File:Gordon-Anderson Building (President's Quarters).jpg, Presidents' Quarters Inn, 127–131 Lincoln Street (viewed from East York Street)
File:John Feely Duplex.jpg, John Feely Duplex, 217–219 East York Street
File:Charles Landershine House.jpg, Charles Landershine House, 221 East York Street
File:Marine Hospital.jpg, Marine Hospital, 115 East York Street
File:Standard Oil Building, 110 East President Street.jpg, Standard Oil Building, 110 East President Street
File:133-135 Lincoln Street.jpg, Joseph Sognier Property (1), 133–135 Lincoln Street
File:139-141 Lincoln Street.jpg, Joseph Sognier Property (2), 139–141 Lincoln Street
]
References
{{Squares of Savannah, Georgia
Oglethorpe Square (Savannah, Georgia)
1742 establishments in the Thirteen Colonies