&sq=&lang=&file=File:Planters_Inn_on_Reynolds_Square,_29_Abercorn_Street_(1913).jpg) Planters Inn, overlooking the square | |
| Former name(s) | Lower New Square |
|---|---|
| Namesake | Captain John Reynolds |
| Maintained by | City of Savannah |
| Location | Savannah, Georgia, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 32°04′45″N 81°05′21″W / 32.0793°N 81.0892°W |
| North | Abercorn Street |
| East | East St. Julian Street |
| South | Abercorn Street |
| West | East St. Julian Street |
| Construction | |
| Completion | 1734 |
Reynolds Square is one of the 22 squares of Savannah, Georgia, United States. It is located in the northernmost row of the city's five rows of squares, on Abercorn Street and East St. Julian Street. It is east of Johnson Square, west of Warren Square and north of Oglethorpe Square. The oldest building on the square is The Olde Pink House (originally Habersham House), which dates to 1771.[1]
Originally called Lower New Square (due to its being the first one laid out, in 1734, after the original four), it was later renamed for Captain John Reynolds, governor of Georgia in the mid-1750s. Reynolds was, in fact, an unpopular governor, and it is said that the celebration held upon his arrival in the colony was rivaled only by that held upon his departure.[2]
The square contains a bronze statue, by Marshall Daugherty, honoring John Wesley, founder of Methodism. Wesley spent most of his life in England but undertook a mission to Savannah between 1735 and 1738, during which time he founded the first Sunday school in America. The statue was installed in 1969 on the spot where Wesley's home is believed to have stood.[3][4] The statue is intended to show Wesley preaching out-of-doors as he did when leading services for Native Americans, a practice which angered church elders who believed that the Gospel should only be preached inside the church building.[5] Sculptor Marshall said: "The moment is as he looks up from his Bible toward his congregation, about to speak and stretching out his right hand in love, invitation, and exhortation. In contrast, the hand holding the Bible is intense and powerful – the point of contact with the Almighty."[6]
Reynolds Square was the site of the Filature,[7] which housed silkworms as part of an early—and unsuccessful—attempt to establish a silk industry in the Georgia colony.[8][9]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
mpc11was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Chan Sieg (1984). The squares: an introduction to Savannah. Virginia Beach: Donning.
- ^ City of Savannah's monuments page This page links directly to numerous short entries, many accompanied by photographs, discussing a variety of monuments, memorials, etc., in the squares and elsewhere. Accessed June 16, 2007.
- ^ Official Savannah Guide's Tour Savannah's Squares, accessed June 16, 2007.
- ^ See Savannah by T.D. Conner (2001), accessed June 14, 2007
- ^ "John Wesley, 1703-1791: Founder of Methodism". Georgia Historical Society. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
- ^ Filature
- ^ Tour Guide Manual for licensed tour guides in the City of Savannah, accessed June 16, 2007.
- ^ Savannah Scene magazine, May–June 2007, pp 10–11, accessed June 16, 2007.