Greene Square

About This Square

Created in 1799, the square was named in honor of Revolutionary War hero General Nathanael Greene, second in command to George Washington.

And no, the statue honoring Greene is not here but in Johnson Square.

There are a couple of notable buildings around this square.

At 536 E. State Street just off the NE corner of the square, is the John Dorsett house, believed to be the smallest freestanding house in Savannah at 511 square feet. It was actually built on Hull Street a few blocks away and moved here in 1955.

The 117/119 Houston St., on the north side of the square, is the Cunningham House, built in 1810 for the Reverend Henry Cunningham, a former slave, and his wife Elizabeth.  It is believed to be the oldest building in Savannah constructed for a person of color.  For many years, until 1838, it operated as orphanage for girls and is now a vacation rental.

Reverend Cunningham established the Second African Baptist church in 1802 in a building at 123 Houston St. on the NW corner of the square.  It was the first Baptist Church for persons of color in Savannah. 

It was in that original church that General Rufus Saxton officially declared General Sherman’s “Special Field Orders No 15,” more populary known as the “40 Acres and a Mule” program that was established to give land to freed slaves after the Civil War.

The original building was replaced with the current one in 1925.