Savannah Squares

The city of Savannah was founded in 1733, making it the first city in Georgia and its first capital. It was settled by James Oglethorpe, a British soldier and member of Parliament who landed here and met with Tomochichi, the head of Creek Indian tribe that claimed this territory.

Savannah was laid out according to what is now called the Oglethorpe Plan, which involved a series of connected wards.  Each ward has a central square surrounded by eight lots (or blocks) – four “tything” lots that were specifically designated for residential purposes and four “trust” lots, reserved for civic buildings like churches and schools.

There were 24 of these squares originally but over the years four were removed including Liberty Square, Elbert Square, and Franklin Square, which were paved over during a road expansion effort in the 1930s, and Ellis Square, which was bulldozed in 1954 to make way for a parking garage.

In the 1980s they created a new version of Franklin Square and in 2006 they torn down the garage and put in a new version of Ellis Square. Therefore of the original 24, 20 still exist and 2 were recreated making a total of 22 squares.

Each square has its own personality and interesting history.  Read all about them…