Wright Square (Savannah, Georgia)

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Wright Square
Monument - panoramio (48).jpg
William Washington Gordon Monument in the square
Former name(s)Percival Square
Court House Square
Post Office Square
Namesake James Wright
Maintained byCity of Savannah
Location Savannah, Georgia, U.S.
Coordinates 32°04′40″N81°05′32″W / 32.0779°N 81.0923°W / 32.0779; -81.0923
North Bull Street
EastEast President Street
SouthBull Street
WestWest President Street
Construction
Completion1733(291 years ago) (1733)

Wright 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 Bull Street and President Street, and was laid out in 1733 as one of the first four squares. It is south of Johnson Square, west of Oglethorpe Square, north of Chippewa Square and east of Telfair Square. The oldest building on the square is the William Waring Property, at 12 West State Street, which dates to 1825. [1]

Contents

The second square established in Savannah, it was originally named Percival Square, for John Percival, 1st Earl of Egmont, generally regarded as the man who gave the colony of Georgia its name (a tribute to Great Britain's King George II). It was renamed in 1763 to honor James Wright, the third and final royal governor of Georgia. Throughout its history it has also been known as Court House Square and Post Office Square; the present Tomochichi Federal Building and United States Court House is adjacent to the west. [2]

The square is the burial site of Tomochichi, a leader of the Creek nation of Native Americans. Tomochichi was a trusted friend of General James Oglethorpe and assisted him in the founding of his colony. When Tomochichi died in 1739, Oglethorpe ordered him buried with military honors in the center of Percival Square. In accordance with his people's customs, the grave was marked by a pyramid of stones gathered from the surrounding area. In 1883, citizens wishing to honor William Washington Gordon replaced Tomochichi's monument with an elaborate and highly allegorical monument to Gordon, called the William Washington Gordon Monument. [3] William Gordon is thus the only native Savannahian honored with a monument in one of the city's squares. [2] Gordon's daughter-in-law, Nellie, objected strongly to this perceived insult to Tomochichi. She and other members of the Colonial Dames of the State of Georgia planned to erect a new monument to Tomochichi, made of granite from Stone Mountain. [4] The Stone Mountain Monument Company offered the material at no cost. Mrs. Gordon felt that she was being condescended to and insisted on paying. The Monument Company sent her a bill—some sources say for 50 cents, others for one dollar—payable on Judgment Day. Mrs. Gordon paid the bill and attached a note explaining that on Judgment Day the Dames "would be too busy attending their own duties on that momentous day." [5] [6] The new monument was erected in 1899. It stands in the southeast corner of the square and eulogizes Tomochichi as a great friend of James Oglethorpe and the people of Georgia. [7] [3]

6 East State Street, in the northeastern tything lot of the square, doubled as Dixie's Flowers, the flower shop Mandy (Alison Eastwood) works at in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil .

Bradley Lock and Key, located in the Patrick Duffy Building at 24 East State Street, also in the northeastern tything lot, is the oldest operating business in Savannah. [5]

Dedication

NamesakeImageNote
James Wright JamesWrightBySoldi.jpg The square is named for James Wright (1716–1785), the last British Royal Governor of the Province of Georgia.

Markers and structures

ObjectImageNote
Gordon Monument Wright square.jpg Another view of the monument.

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. They are listed with construction years where known.

Northwestern residential/tything block
  • 111–119 Bull Street (1907) [1]
  • William Waring Property, 12 West State Street (1824–1825) [1] – oldest building on the square
  • Edward Lovell Property, 14 West State Street (1853) [1]
  • Isaac Morrell Building, 16 West State Street (1853) [1]
  • 18 West State Street (1916) [1]
Western civic/trust block
Southwestern residential/tything block
  • 135–139 Bull Street (1875)
  • Lindsay & Morgan Building, 5–11 West York Street (1921)
  • Thomas Henderson Building, 15–21 West York Street (1890)
Northeastern residential/tything block
  • 6 East State Street (by 1900)
  • 8 East State Street (1929)
  • 14 East State Street (1908)
  • 18 East State Street (1905)
  • Patrick Duffy Building, 24 East State Street (1885) [8] – presently the home of Bradley Lock and Key
  • A. R. Altmeyer Building, 110–118 Bull Street (1892) [1]
Northeastern civic/trust block
Southeastern civic/trust block
  • Old Chatham County Court House, 124 Bull Street (1889) [1]
Southeastern residential/tything block
  • Peter Ott Property, 15–19 East York Street (1892) [1]
  • John Schwarz Building, 136–140 Bull Street (1890) [1]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Historic Building Map: Savannah Historic District – Historic Preservation Department of the Chatham County-Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission (November 17, 2011), p. 22
  2. 1 2 Chan Sieg (1984). The squares: an introduction to Savannah. Virginia Beach: Donning.
  3. 1 2 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. Original is archived here, 2007-10-25. Accessed 2023-02-24.
  4. ↑ Berinato, Christopher. "That's so Savannah: Tomochichi's boulder a monument to a man integral to Georgia's founding". Savannah Morning News. Retrieved 2022-04-08.
  5. 1 2 "New generation at Bradley's locksmiths" – Savannah Morning News , September 7, 2019
  6. ↑ An Introduction to Historic Savannah by John Duncan, February 23, 2004, accessed June 14, 2007.
  7. ↑ Tour Guide Manual for licensed tour guides in the City of Savannah, accessed June 16, 2007.
  8. ↑ A Key to Savannah – Freemans Rag
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