Whitefield Square

About This Square

Created in 1851, Whitefield is the final square created in Savannah under the Oglethorpe Plan.

It is named for the Reverend George Whitefield, who came to Savannah at the urging of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism.  Whitefield founded the oldest orphanage in the United States, the Bethesda Home for Boys.

Before being developed, this area was the site of an African-American burial ground.  When it closed in 1853, they relocated some of the bodies to Laurel Grove Cemetery, but many (if not most) were left behind and both this square, nearby Calhoun Square, and most of the buildings around them were built on top of the old graves decades later after the Civil War.  It is believed that there are hundredsof bodies still buried here.

The original St. Joseph’s Hospital of Savannah was founded in 1875 on this square, with a building located on the northwest corner of the ward.  It operated here until the 1960s and then moved further south.  The original buildings were torn down and replaced with the structures you see now.

Because this area was heavily populated by people of color after the Civil War, there are two important Black churches here.  The First Congregational Church was founded on this square in 1869 as one of the first for African-Americans in Savannah.  The current building was constructed in 1895.  The Beth Eden Church was built in 1893 as one of the first Baptist churches for Black people in Savannah.

Whitefield Square is one of only two that have gazebos.