Wright Square State Historical Marker

Wright Square State Historical Marker in Savannah, Ga.

(text)

WRIGHT SQUARE

This Square, which was laid out in 1733, was originally

named for John Percival, Earl of Egmont, who played a large

part in founding the colony of Georgia. Its name was changed

around 1763 to Wright Square in honor of James Wright, royal

governor of the province of Georgia (1760-1782).

In the Town Hall which was located on the present site of the

Chatham County courthouse George Whitefield, Church of England

minister at Savannah, preached to large congregations in early

colonial days.

In 1739 Tomo-chi-chi, the Chief of the Yamacraw Indians

who befriended the early Georgia colonists, was buried with

ceremony in the center of this Square. Gen. Oglethorpe acting

as one of the pallbearers.

The monument to William Washington Gordon (1796-1842) com-

memorates the founder and first president of Georgia's earliest

railroad, the Central Railroad and Banking Company -- an enter-

prise which greatly promoted the economy of this State. De-

signed by the distinguished architects, Henry Van Brunt and

Frank M. Howe, the handsome monument to Gordon symbolizes the

progress and prosperity of the world by means of commerce,

manufacture, agriculture, and art. It was completed in 1883.

 

025-69 GEORGIA HISTORICAL COMMISSION 1958

Photo: Ed Jackson

© Carl Vinson Institute of Government, The University of Georgia

Go to Georgia Historic Markers web site

This page has been accessed times from sites outside the Institute since Oct. 18, 2000. This page was last modified on .