Johnson Square

The largest of all the 22 squares, Johnson Square was named after Robert Johnson, the Royal Governor of South Carolina in 1733. Governor Johnson was a friend and aide to Oglethorpe and the early settlers of Savannah.

Johnson Square was laid out in 1733 and was the centerpiece of the Derby Ward. This ward was named after the Honorable James Stanley, Tenth Earl of Derby, who was one of the 21 Trustees of the Georgia territory. The first 40 houses in Savannah were built in this ward.

You will find Johnson Square between W. Bryan and Bull Street. Johnson Square has two fountains, as well as a sundial dedicated to Colonel William Bull, the namesake of Savannah’s Bull Street. Why not take a 20 second visit to Johnson Square?

At the heart of John Squares lies the Greene Monument honoring General Nathanael Greene of Rhode Island. Greene was a hero of the Southern campaign during the American Revolution. In 1825, the Marquis de Lafayette, laid the cornerstone for Greene’s monument. Nothing was engraved on the monument when it was built, however, in 1886, bronze plaques featuring information on Greene’s life, while the other featured a bas-relief of Greene.

In 1902, General Green was reinterred under the monument from Colonial Park Cemetery. …After they “rediscovered” his lost remains in 1901.

The Christ Church Episcopal on the southeast side of Johnson Square is the first Anglican (Episcopal) church in Georgia. However, the building you see today is not the original building. After Savannah’s early colonists lay the foundation in 1740 and it was dedicated in 1750, it was destroyed in the Great Savannah Fire of 1796.

Reconstruction started again in 1803 but it was wiped out by a hurricane in 1804. In 1810, after choosing a Federal architectural design, construction began again. Seemed like third time was the charm, and building is still standing firm. …Aside from the restoration needed after that fire in 1897.

Book your stay, just blocks, from Savannah’s largest square.