page_title: Squares of Savannah, Georgia
section_title: Wright Square
hierarchical_section_title: Squares of Savannah, Georgia / First four squares, 1733 / Wright Square
caption_attribution_description: Monument
context_page_description: The U.S. city of Savannah, Georgia was laid out in 1733 around four open squares, each surrounded by four residential blocks and four civic blocks. Once the four wards were developed in the mid-1730s, two additional wards were laid out. The layout of a square and eight surrounding blocks was known as a "ward." The original plan was part of a larger regional plan that included gardens, farms, and "out-lying villages." While some authorities believe that the original plan allowed for growth of the city and thus expansion of the grid, the regional plan suggests otherwise: the ratio of town lots to country lots was in balance and growth of the urban grid would have destroyed that balance.
  Oglethorpe's agrarian balance was abandoned after the Georgia Trustee period. Additional squares were added during the late 18th and 19th centuries, and by 1851 there were 24 squares in the city. In the 20th century, three of the squares were demolished or altered beyond recognition, leaving 21. In 2010, one of the three "lost" squares, Ellis, was reclaimed.
context_section_description: The second square established in Savannah, Percival Square was named for Lord Percival, generally regarded as the man who gave the colony of Georgia its name (a tribute to Great Britain's King George II). It was renamed in 1763 to honor James Wright, the third and final royal governor of Georgia. Throughout its history it has also been known as Court House Square and Post Office Square; the present Tomochichi Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse is adjacent to the west.
  The square is the burial site of Tomochichi, a leader of the Creek nation of Native Americans. Tomochichi was a trusted friend of James Oglethorpe and assisted him in the founding of his colony. When Tomochichi died in 1739 Oglethorpe ordered him buried with military honors in the center of Percival Square. In accordance with his people's customs the grave was marked by a pyramid of stones gathered from the surrounding area. In 1883, citizens wishing to honor William Washington Gordon replaced Tomochichi's monument with an elaborate and highly allegorical monument to Gordon. William Gordon is thus the only native Savannahian honored with a monument in one of the city's squares. Gordon's own widow objected strongly to this perceived insult to Tomochichi. She and other members of the Colonial Dames of the State of Georgia planned to erect a new monument to Tomochichi, made of granite from Stone Mountain. The Stone Mountain Monument Company offered the material at no cost. Mrs. Gordon felt that she was being condescended to and insisted on paying. The Monument Company sent her a bill—some sources say for 50 cents, others for one dollar—payable on Judgment Day. Mrs. Gordon paid the bill and attached a note explaining that on Judgment Day she would be occupied with her own affairs. The new monument was erected in 1899. It stands in the southeast corner of the square and eulogizes Tomochichi as a great friend of James Oglethorpe and the people of Georgia.
  Wright Square is on Bull, between State and York Streets.
caption: Monument in Wright Square
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