Squares & Stories Walk

Welcome to Savannah, and to Johnson Square. Laid out in 1733, it was the first of the city's squares, and it's still the largest of the 22. It's named for Robert Johnson, colonial governor of South Carolina and a friend of General James Oglethorpe. Each square is ringed by residential tything blocks and civic trust blocks, a layout known as the Oglethorpe Plan.

The obelisk in the center honors Revolutionary War general Nathanael Greene, who is buried beneath it. The Marquis de Lafayette laid its cornerstone in 1825. Greene had died in 1786 and was buried in Colonial Park Cemetery, the last stop on this walk. His grave was later lost, and his remains, with his son's, only arrived here in 1901.

On November 8, 1860, the first flag of independence raised in the South went up in this square. Today it's known as the banking square, and Christ Church, called the Mother Church of Georgia and established in 1733, stands on its southeast side.

This is Wright Square, laid out in 1733 as one of the first four squares. It was first named Percival Square, after John Percival, the Earl of Egmont. In 1763 it was renamed for James Wright, Georgia's third and last royal governor. This square is the burial site of Tomochichi, a leader of the Creek nation and a trusted friend of Oglethorpe who helped him found the colony.

When Tomochichi died in 1739, Oglethorpe had him buried with military honors in the center of the square, and his grave was marked with a pyramid of stones, following his people's customs. In 1883, that marker was replaced by the monument you see in the center, honoring William Washington Gordon. His daughter-in-law, Nellie Gordon, objected strongly. She and the Colonial Dames of Georgia arranged a new granite monument from Stone Mountain.

The company offered the stone for free, but she insisted on paying, so it sent her a tiny bill payable on Judgment Day. The Tomochichi monument, put up in 1899, stands in the southeast corner.