Warren Square

About This Square

This square was created in 1791 and named after General Joseph Warren, who fought in the American Revolution and died in the Battle of Bunker Hill.  What did he have to do with Savannah?  Nothing, really.  He had been the President of the Provincial Government of Massachusetts and there was a strong bond between “sister cities” Savannah and Boston, with supplies and goods traded both during and after the war.

The neighborhood was predominantely inhabited by Irish immigrants, many of whom had come here to Savannah to work as cheap labor – and in some cases as indentured servants – during the city’s nascent days.  This helps to explain the simpler, wood-frame construction of most of the buildings as opposed to the more expensive stone and masonry seen elsewhere.

Due to its location on the eastern end of the Historic District, and therefore closer to the Atlantic Ocean, this square had strong ties to the sea and those who sailed it.  Visiting sailors and even a reputed pirate or two stayed in this neighborhood when their ships were in town.

Since the great fire of 1796 didn’t make it this far east, many of the houses around this square date back to the 1700s including the one at 24 Habersham, which was built in 1749 on another lot on Warren Square and moved here around 1797. Over it’s long life it is has been a house, a rectory, and a hospital during the during a yellow fever epidemic.

At 22 Habersham is the Spencer-Woodbridge House, built in 1790.  It’s the oldest original house on the square and one of many saved by the Historic Savannah Foundation.