This square was named for General Nathanael Greene, aide to General George Washington in the Revolutionary War. General Greene is also honored by the obelisk in Johnson Square, where he and his son are now buried. In gratitude for his service, General Greene was given Mulberry Grove Plantation, where he died at 44 of sunstroke.

It was at Mulberry Grove in 1793 that young Eli Whitney took time out from tutoring the Greene children to invent the cotton gin, with the help of Catherine Littlefield "Caty" Greene, widow of the brave General.

On the Southwest corner of Greene Square, the Meyerhoff house is built of Savannah Gray Brick and a sign on the house notes that these bricks were made at the Hermitage Plantation.

The Second African Baptist Church, dating to 1802 is on the West side of the square. At this church, Sherman made his famous "Forty Acres and a Mule" promise to the newly freed slaves.

Also on this square is the 1801 wooden building that was the Savannah Female Orphan Asylum.

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

Greene Square was once the center of Savannah's African-American community.

Notable Buildings on Greenes Square:

Meyerhoff Hoiuse -- Meyerhoff House is built of Savannah Gray Brick and a sign on the house notes that these bricks were made at the Hermitage Plantation.

Second African Baptist Church -- The Second African Baptist Church, dating to 1802 is on the West side of the square. At this church, Sherman made his famous "Forty Acres and a Mule" promise to the newly freed slaves.

Savannah Female Orphan Asylum -- Also on this square is the 1801 wooden building that was the Savannah Female Orphan Asylum.

Location:

Greene Square is located Houston, between State and York Streets in Savannah, Georgia.

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.