Savannah's Columbia Square

Columbia Square was laid out in 1799 and is named for Columbia, the poetic personification of the United States. Isaiah Davenport House in Columbia Square was the linchpin of historic preservation in Savannah. It was the threat of destruction of this house that prompted seven strong Savannah women in 1955 to band together in outraged opposition.

The fountain in Columbia Square was given in 1970 by Eudora and Wainwright Roebling in memory of her parents, Augusta and Wymberley DeRenne. The fountain came from Wormsloe, the estate of Noble Jones, one of Georgia's first settlers who came over with Oglethorpe. The fountain is sometimes called the "rustic fountain," as it is decorated with vines, leaves, flowers, and other woodland motifs.[

Columbia Square and Greene Square were added to the town plan in 1799.

Columbia Square is one of the 24 squares that was designed and incorporated into the plan for the city of Savannah.

Notable Buildings on Columbia Square:

Francis Stone House -- (1821), 402-404 East State Street. High-stooped, white, frame house with black trim; built for city alderman Francis Stone.

Isaiah Davenport House -- (1815-1821) 324 East State Street. Here's the linchpin of historic preservation in Savannah. It was the threat of destruction of this house that prompted seven strong Savannah women in 1955 to band together in outraged opposition.

The Kehoe House -- (c.1890) 123 Habersham Street. Red brick and terra cotta, built for William J. Kehoe, founder of Kehoe Iron Works. DeWitt Bruyn, architect.

Frederic Ball House -- The Frederic Ball House and the former law offices are on the Western side of the square next to the Kehoe House.

Universalist Church -- The Universalist Church, on the Southwest corner of the square, is the former Sheftall House.

Location:

Columbia Square is located on Habersham, between State and York Streets.

The Squares of Savannah Georgia:

Savannah was originally laid out around four open squares. The plan anticipated growth of the city and thus expansion of the grid; additional squares were added during the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries, and by 1851 there were twenty four squares in downtown Savannah. Three of these have been demolished or altered beyond recognition, leaving twenty-one squares at the present. One of those, Ellis Square, is currently being rebuilt. Most squares are named in honor or in memory of a person, persons, or event, and many contain monuments, markers, memorials, statues, plaques, and other tributes. The first squares were originally intended to provide colonists space for military exercises. All of the squares are a part of Savannah's historic district and fall within an area of less than one half square mile. Savannah's city plan was designed by General James Oglethorpe, and his layout has been hailed as the most intelligent grid in America. The American Society of Civil Engineers has honored Oglethorpe's plan for Savannah as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, and in 1994 the plan was nominated for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The squares are a major point of interest for millions of tourists visiting Savannah each year, and they have been credited with stabilizing once-deteriorating neighborhoods and revitalizing Savannah's downtown commercial district.