Telfair Square (Savannah, Georgia)

Telfair Square
Telfair Academy, in the northwest civic/trust block of the square
Former name(s)St. James Square
NamesakeTelfair family
Maintained byCity of Savannah
LocationSavannah, Georgia, U.S.
Coordinates32°04′43″N 81°05′40″W / 32.0785°N 81.0945°W / 32.0785; -81.0945
NorthBarnard Street
EastWest President Street
SouthBarnard Street
WestWest President Street
Construction
Completion1733 (291 years ago) (1733)

Telfair 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 Barnard Street and West President Street, and was laid out in 1733 as one of the first four squares. It is south of Ellis Square, west of Wright Square and north of Orleans Square. Liberty Square formerly stood to its west but was later paved over. The oldest building on the square is Telfair Academy, at 121 Barnard Street, which dates to 1818–1820.[1]

Originally named St. James Square, in honor of a green space in London, and marked one of the most fashionable neighborhoods in early Savannah,[2] it was renamed in 1883 to honor the Telfair family.[3] It is the only square honoring a family rather than an individual or an event. The Telfairs included former governor of Georgia Edward Telfair, Congressman Thomas Telfair (Edward Telfair's son), and his daughter Mary Telfair (1791–1875), benefactor of Savannah's Telfair Museum of Art. The square also contains tributes to the Girl Scouts of the USA, founded by Savannahian Juliette Gordon Low, and to the chambered nautilus.[4]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference mpc20 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Chan Sieg (1984). The squares: an introduction to Savannah. Virginia Beach: Donning.
  3. ^ Savannah Scene magazine, May–June 2007, pp 10–11, accessed June 16, 2007.
  4. ^ Tour Guide Manual for licensed tour guides in the City of Savannah, accessed June 16, 2007.