The 13th Colony
Alcorn, MS Public Schools
Summer 2009
Dr. Teresa Ann Jacobs
The Colonization of Georgia
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Great Britain claimed
Georgia in 1663.
In 1717 Sir Robert
Montgomery two
other investors
wanted to create the
“Margravate of Azilia”
Not enough financial
backing
Dr. Teresa Ann Jacobs
James Edward Oglethorpe
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Born in London 1696
Well Educated
Wealthy
1722 became member of
Parliament
Committee to study
prison reform
Friend, Robert Castell
died in prison because
he couldn’t pay his debts
Dr. Teresa Ann Jacobs
The Voyage
The “Ann” sailed from England with 114
people on a voyage that took 88 days.
The “Ann” also carried sheep, hogs, ducks,
geese, and several dogs.
Two deaths were reported on the voyage,
both infants.
Dr. Teresa Ann Jacobs
A Dream Becomes a Reality
http://www.cummingmapsociety.org/18thC_Maps.htm
Welcome to Savannah
Peter Gordon, 1734
Tything
Tything
(10 Lots)
(10 Lots)
Trust Lots (2)
Trust Lots (2)
Tything
Tything
(10 Lots)
(10 Lots)
James Edward Oglethorpe laid out a 2.2 square
mile tract in 1733 as the site of Savannah.
Once this was done, he began laying out the
city using a system of wards. From 1733 to
1856, a total of 24 wards were laid out.
Dr. Teresa Ann Jacobs
Francis Moore described the regional dimensions of
the city in the following 18th Century account:
“Every freeholder has a Lott in Town 60 foot by 90
foot, besides which he has a Lott beyond the Common,
of 5 Acres for a Garden…Each freeholder…has a Lott of
farm of 45 acres… and two out of every twelve…are
reserved by the Trustees in order to defray the Charge
of the Publick…Where the town-Lands and gardens
and farms end, the Villages begin…Beyond the Villages,
commence Lotts of 500 Acres; These are granted upon
Terms of keeping 10 servants…There is near Town, to
the East, a Garden belonging to the Trustees, consisting
of 10 Acres.”
Dr. Teresa Ann Jacobs
Savannah’s Squares
Dr. Teresa Ann Jacobs
Franklin
Ellis
Johnson
Reynolds
Warren
Washington
Liberty 1799
Heathcote 1733
Percival 1733
Anson 1742
Columbia 1799
Greene 1791
Liberty
Telfair
Wright
Oglethorpe
Columbia
Greene
Elbert 1801
Jackson 1815
Brown 1815
Elbert
Orleans
Chippewa
Pulaski 1837
Jasper 1837
Lafayette 1837
Pulaski
Madison
Lafayette
Troup
Chatham 1840
Monterey 1847
Calhoun 1851
Wesley 1851
Chatham
Monterey
Calhoun
Whitefield
Barnard
Bull
Abercorn
Habersham
Houston
Street
Street
Street
Street
Street
Montgomery
Street
1752
Colonial Park
Cemetery
Crawford
Troup 1851
Savannah Wards and Streets
Dr. Teresa Ann Jacobs
Franklin Ward, Franklin Square (Benjamin Franklin):
A lost square, Franklin was later reclaimed.
Liberty Ward, Liberty Square (freedom, Liberty Boys):
Liberty is a lost square.
Elbert Ward, Elbert Square (Samuel Elbert, patriot & governor
of Georgia):
Elbert is a lost square.
Montgomery Street
Decker Ward, Ellis Square (1733- Sir Matthew Decker, trustee, and
Henry Ellis, GA’s 2nd royal governor): Once the site of City Market,
Ellis Square has been a parking garage since 1954.
Heathcote Ward, Telfair Square (1733- George Heathcote, trustee,
and the Telfair family): Telfair Square was originally St. James’s
Square. It is one of two squares whose names were changed.
Jackson Ward, Orleans Square (1815- Andrew Jackson, Battle of
New Orleans):
This square has a fountain and decorative stone benches.
Pulaski Ward, Pulaski Square (1837- Gen. Casimir Pulaski).
Chatham Ward, Chatham Square (1840s- William Pitt, Earl of
Chatham).
Derby Ward, Johnson Square (1733- James Derby, trustee, and
Robert Johnson, SC’s royal governor):
The Nathaniel Greene Monument is located in this square.
Percival Ward, Wright Square (1733- first president of the trustees,
and James Wright, GA’s 3rd royal governor): Originally Egmont
Square, Wright square holds the William Washington Gordon
Monument and Tomochichi’s Rock.
Brown Ward, Chippewa Square (1815- Gen. Jacob Jennings Brown,
Battle of Chippewa): The Oglethorpe Monument, created by Daniel
Chester French and Henry Bacon, is located in Chippewa Square.
Jasper Ward, Madison Square (1837- Sgt. William Jasper,
President James Madison): A monument honoring Sgt. William
Jasper is located in Madison Square. Cannon marking the
colonial road to Darien are also located here.
Monterey Ward, Monterey Square (1847- Mexican War battle):
Monterey Square holds the Pulaski Monument. Pulaski, like
Jasper, fell during the Siege of Savannah.
Bull Street
Reynolds Ward, Reynolds Square (1734- John Reynolds, 1st royal
governor of GA): Reynolds Square is the site of the Wesley Monument
which honors the founder of Methodism.
Anson Ward, Oglethorpe Square (1742- Admiral George Anson,
General James Edward Oglethorpe).
An interruption to the city plan
occurs on Abercorn Street.
Lafayette Ward, Lafayette Square (1837- Revolutionary War hero):
A sundial and fountain are found in Lafayette Square.
Calhoun Ward, Calhoun Square (1851- John C. Calhoun, senator and
Secretary of War under President Madison).
Massie School
Abercorn Street
Warren Ward, Warren Square (1790- Gen. Joseph Warren, killed at
the Battle of Bunker Hill).
Columbia Ward, Columbia Square (1799- figurative name for America).
Columbia Square holds a fountain relocated from Wormsloe Plantation.
An interruption to the city plan
occurs on Habersham Street.
Troup Ward, Troup Square (1851- George Michael Troup, GA
governor & US senator): Troup Square features an armillary sphere.
This is one of only two squares named for living persons.
Wesley Ward, Whitefield Square (1851- John Wesley, Founder of
Methodism and George Whitefield, founder of Bethesda): This square is
the location of a gazebo.
Habersham Street
Abercorn Street
Habersham Street
Colonial Park
Cemetery
Colonial Park
Cemetery
occupies the
space which
should have
been the third
squares on
Abercorn and
Habersham
Streets.
Washington Ward, Washington Square (1791- President
George Washington).
Greene Ward, Greene Square (1791- Gen. Nathanael
Greene).
Crawford Ward, Crawford Square (1841- William Harris
Crawford, US senator, minister to France, Secretary of the
Treasury, and presidential candidate). Sometimes called
“the playground Square,” Crawford Square contains
playground equipment and basketball courts.
Houston Street
Savannah is Monumental
Dr. Teresa Ann Jacobs
Nathanael Greene Monument – Johnson Square (1825)
Greene was the only soldier other than
Washington to hold the rank of general
throughout the American Revolution.
He was given Mulberry Grove
Plantation as a reward for his services
to the United States during the
revolution. He died of a heat stroke in
1786. Greene was originally buried in
Colonial Park.
The monument originally honored both
Greene and General Casimir Pulaski.
Johnson Square was once known as
“Monument Square.”
Dr. Teresa Ann Jacobs
William Washington Gordon Monument – Wright Square (1889)
William Washington Gordon, the
grandfather of Girl Scouts of America
founder Juliette Gordon Low, was
instrumental in the creation of the
Central of Georgia Railroad. The erection
of this monument necessitated the
removal of another important memorial:
the burial mound of Tomochichi’s burial
mound.
This boulder was later placed in the
square in honor of Tomochichi.
Dr. Teresa Ann Jacobs
Oglethorpe Monument – Chippewa Square (1910)
Sculptor Daniel Chester French created
this statue of Georgia founder James
Edward Oglethorpe. Henry O. Bacon
contributed the stone work; the two men
later collaborated on the Lincoln
Memorial in Washington, DC.
This monument required the removal of
a fountain and busts of Confederate
heroes Francis Bartow and Lafayette
McLaws. The busts were relocated at the
Confederate Monument in Forsyth Park.
The Oglethorpe Monument tells the story
of the founding of Georgia.
Dr. Teresa Ann Jacobs
Pulaski Monument – Monterey Square (1825)
The cornerstone for this monument
was laid in 1825; however, it was not
completed until 1852. Like Sgt. Jasper,
Pulaski was killed in the Siege of
Savannah during the American
Revolution. This monument also tells
a story.
Sgt. William Jasper Monument – Madison Square (1888)
This monument, like the Oglethorpe
Monument, tells a story. Revolutionary War
hero Sgt. William Jasper was killed during the
Siege of Savannah while trying to rescue his
company’s colors.
A pair of cannon are also found in Madison
Square; they mark the beginning of the
colonial road to Darien.
Edmund N. Bacon, noted urban
planner, said in his book
Design of Cities
that Savannah’s city plan is “So exalted
that it remains one of the finest
diagrams for city organization and
growth in existence,” providing “a
system of such order and clarity that it
became the controlling element for the
growth of Savannah for the next 120
years.”
Dr. Teresa Ann Jacobs