22 Square: Oglethorpe Square

We will be visiting Oglethorpe Square on March 29th.  This is a bring your own beverage social rather than the structured dinner we have done in the past.

Starting in 2012 when Metro was founded, a goal was set to have a social event in each of Savannah’s 22 squares and after short hiatus (our last was October 2018!) we are bringing them back!  We are simplifying them though for those who have attended them in the past.  There are no tables to lug or dishes to prepare, we will just gather together for a drink or conversation.  This is a family friendly gathering (there is a kids activity box) and, as always, open to friends or prospective members. Please BYOB or grab a drink at a nearby restaurant on your way!  We will have some wine leftover from the oyster roast too.  Questions?  Contact Chris Corey 😊😊😊

Oglethorpe Square is one of the 22 squares of Savannah, Georgia, United States. It is located in the second row of the city's five rows of squares, on Abercorn Street and East President Street, and was laid out in 1742. It is south of Reynolds Square, west of Columbia Square, north of Colonial Park Cemetery and east of Wright Square. The oldest building on the square is the Owens–Thomas House, at 124 Abercorn Street, which dates 1819.^[1]

Upper New Square, as it was originally known, was laid out in 1742 and was later renamed in honor of Georgia founder General James Oglethorpe, although his statue is located in Chippewa Square, to the southwest.

The home of Georgia's first Royal Governor, John Reynolds, was located on the southeastern trust lot (now a parking lot of The Presidents' Quarters Inn) overlooking the square. Reynolds arrived in Savannah October 29, 1754.

The residences of the Royal Surveyors of Georgia and South Carolina were located on the northeastern trust lots, the site of today's Owens–Thomas House. The Presidents' Quarters Inn,^[2] a 16-room historic bed and breakfast, is located in the southeastern trust lot.

The square contains a pedestal honoring Moravian missionaries who arrived at the same time as John Wesley and settled in Savannah from 1735 to 1740, before resettling in Pennsylvania.^[3][4][5]

A Savannah veterans’ group had unsuccessfully proposed erecting a memorial to veterans of World War II in Oglethorpe Square^[6] (which was installed on River Street).

The Unitarian Universalist Church was originally based on the square, prior to its move to a new structure on the western side of Troup Square.