Columbia Square

About This Square

This square was created in 1799 and named after the “poetic personification of America” (ie: the District of Columbia).

At the center of the square is the Wormsloe Fountain, which was originally at the Wormsloe Plantation (now the Wormsloe State Historic Site) but moved here in 1970.

There are several notable houses around the square including the Isaiah Davenport House, which was built in 1820 for a shipbuilder.

In 1955 a group of local Savannah women got together and raised money to keep it from being torn down and replaced with a parking lot, making it the first act of preservation from what would become the Historic Savannah Foundation.  Their offices are on the square opposite the Davenport House.

Right behind Davenport House is the Kennedy Pharmacy building.  Restored in 2022, it is now a gift shop and ticketing office for the museum.

This square is also where you’ll find the Kehoe House, built in 1893 by the owner of a local foundry at a cost of $25,000.  Over the years it was used as a funeral home and was once owned by football legend Joe Namath.  It became a bed and breakfast in 2007 and they actively encourage discussion of its haunted reputation.  Although it is not substantiated by historical records, according to legend two of Kehoe’s 10 children died in the house and both staff and guests report seeing the ghosts of little kids running around and laughing.