Monterey Square

About This Square

Laid out in 1847, the square was named in honor of General Zachary Taylor’s capture of the town of Monterey, Mexico during the Mexican-American War.

At the center of the square is the General Casimir Pulaski Monument, an obelisk erected in honor of the Polish immigrant who fought in the Revolutionary War, it said at the urging of Benjamin Franklin. One square over and one up, is Pulsaki Square, also named for the General. So why isn’t the monument there? Politics, timing, and money had a lot to do with it.

They first started to the create the monument to Pulaski in 1825, about 12 years before Pulaski square existed. The placed a cornerstone in Chippewa Square and then they basically ran of out of money and it wouldn’t be until 1852 that they could afford to build it. The sculptor decided that Monterey Square was more scenic, and perhaps more prestigious, than Pulaski Square, so they had the cornerstone moved here and built the monument.

Remains believed to be those of the General were discovered in 1853 and interred at the base of the monument.

But perhaps one of the most interesting things about Casimir Pulaski is not the monument but the man himself… or was “he?”

In 1996, the remains were removed from the monument to determine if they really were those of Pulaski.  Genetic testing confirmed they were, but it also brought up some interesting anomalies.  Years of analysis resulted in a 2019 report funded by the Smithsonian Institute revealed that Pulaski was not genetically a male.  It is likely that he was either genetically female and masqueraded as a man or more likely was intersex (born with both genders sexual organs) and lived life as a male.

There are two important buildings on the square including the Mickve Israel Temple, built in the 1870s for the congregation, which counts itself as the third oldest Jewish congregation in the United States, dating back to 1733. It’s one of the only Neo-Gothic synagogues in the US.

The other notable building is the Mercer-Williams house. They started building the house in 1860 for Hugh Mercer (singer Johnny Mercer’s great grandfather) but the civil war interrupted the process and the house wasn’t finished until 1869.

It was purchased in 1969 by Jim Williams, an antiques dealer and preservationist. He was a leader in the effort to preserve and restore historic Savannah. In 1981, the 50-year-old bachelor antique dealer shot and killed his “assistant” Danny Hansford, an incident made famous (or infamous perhaps) by the book and movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.