Squares Savannah, Georgia is known for its wonderfully friendly people, its natural beauty, architecture, its history dating back to long before the Civil War, and so many other things.
But it should also be known as the first planned city in the country.
Situated on the Savannah River Savannah is the oldest city in Georgia and was at one time its Capitol, holding that distinction until shortly after the Civil War when Atlanta was selected as the more convenient and more strategic site for the state’s government.
Still the capital of Chatham County, the preservation of its pre-Civil War architecture is due to the city’s surrender rather than face the tens of thousands of Union soldiers under General Tecumseh Sherman during his famed March to the Sea when he set fire to every place his troops conquered , a ride which played a large role in finally ending the war between the states.
The city’s plan plays out in detail some of the highlights of Savannah honoring both pre-War notables as well as well-known personages including Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of the Girl Scouts. That’s because the city is divided in squares, the jewels of the city, each beautifully landscaped, filled with statues, floral, fountains or other significant structures, all with an individual name and all with details in stone on why that particular square is important. Each square also has plenty of park benches so visitors can rest walking the entire historic district, or simply sit and admire the natural beauty and conversation with friendly strangers.
Savannah was founded in 1733 when James Oglethorpe and early colonists landed on a bluff along the Savannah River, met with the local Yamacraw Indian chief, became friends, and the two leaders laid out a grid for the city, ,originally with just four squares.. Yamacraw Square honors that first piece of Georgian history.
Today there are 22 squares, each honoring persons, places or deeds during the next couple of hundred years after Oglethorpe. There are six squares commemorating the Revolution, including one honoring the Sons of Liberty and the Revolutionary War victory. Lafayette Square honors the French military officer and another, Columbia Square, is named for General Nathanial Greene, and aide to Washington. Madison Square, honors the nation’s fourth president. That square features a cannon from the Savannah Armory There are two squares commemorating the War of 1812, one honoring Andrew Jackson’s victory at the Battle of New Orleans and another for the US victory in the Battle of Chippewa. Chippewa Square has also become better known in the 20th century as the Square where Forrest Gump’s bench was placed for the movie.
Wright Square is the burial site for Tomochichi, the Native American who worked with Oglethorpe to plan the squares, and Crawford Square was designed in 1841 and contains part of a 19th century water cistern; it is also home to the city’s first public, paved basketball court.
Several of the squares are home to historic sites that are open to the public for tours.
Whitefield Square is the square most known for being the popular location at its gazebo for weddings. It is named for an English clergyman who was a minister in the early colonial days. Another square honors John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, and yet another is home for the Mickve Congregation Israel, the oldest Jewish congregation in the South, third oldest in the country, and the most extraordinary architecture of a Jewish congregation with its neo-Gothic sanctuary, cruciform shape and room for a  museum, library, shop, religious school, and offices. Lafayette Square is home to the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, a white marble Catholic cathedral, which like the temple, is open for tours as well as quiet reflection. Not surprisingly, there are no Squares commemorative of the Civil War.
The City Mart is another stopping spot for so many reasons, with both indoor and outdoor dining, plenty of shops, museums, generally some impromptu entertainment going on, and some interesting sites that explain why Savannah is also known as a haunted city.
But that’s another story.
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