Chippewa Square is one of the 22 squares of Savannah, Georgia, United States. It is located in the middle row of the city's five rows of squares, on Bull Street and McDonough Street, and was laid out in 1815. It is south of Wright Square, west of Colonial Park Cemetery, north of Madison Square and east of Orleans Square. The oldest building on the square is The Savannah Theatre, at 222 Bull Street, which dates to 1818.

The square is named in honor of American soldiers killed in the Battle of Chippawa during the War of 1812. (The "Chippewa" spelling is correct in reference to this square.)

In the center of the square is the James Oglethorpe Monument, created by sculptor Daniel Chester French and architect Henry Bacon and unveiled in 1910.Tour Guide Manual for licensed tour guides in the City of Savannah, accessed June 16, 2007. Oglethorpe faces south, toward Georgia's one-time enemy in Spanish Florida, and his sword is drawn.Our Coast's guide to Savannah's Squares, accessed June 16, 2007. Site features an excellent interactive map of Savannah's squares and numerous photographs. Busts of Confederate figures Francis Stebbins Bartow and Lafayette McLaws were moved from Chippewa Square to Forsyth Park to make room for the Oglethorpe monument.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. Due to the location of the monument, Savannahians sometimes refer to this as Oglethorpe Square, but that is located just to the northeast.Chan Sieg (1984). The squares: an introduction to Savannah. Virginia Beach: Donning.

The "park bench" scene which opens the 1994 film Forrest Gump was filmed on the north side of Chippewa Square.Savannah Scene magazine, May–June 2007, pp 10–11, accessed June 16, 2007. The bench was a fiberglass prop, rather than one of the park's actual benches. One of the prop benches used in the film is on display at Savannah History Museum. The other original prop is kept in Paramount Studios, Los Angeles.

Chippewa Square is also home to the First Baptist Church (1833), the Independent Presbyterian Church and the Philbrick–Eastman House (1847).

Dedication Namesake Image NoteBattle of ChippawaThe square is named for the Battle of Chippawa, a conflict during the War of 1812.

Markers and structures Object Image NoteJames Oglethorpe MonumentJames Oglethorpe Monument in the center of the square.Historical markerHistorical marker for the monument, erected by the Georgia Historical Commission in 1957.Historical markerHistorical marker for the square, laid in 1815.

Constituent buildings

Each building below is in one of the eight blocks around the square composed of four residential "tything" blocks and four civic ("trust") blocks, now known as the Oglethorpe Plan. They are listed with construction years where known.

Northwestern residential/tything block Independent Presbyterian Church, 207 Bull Street (1891) – by John Holden Greene; gutted in the 1889 fire, rebuilt 1891 Independent Presbyterian Church School Building, 207 Bull Street (1894) – by Charles Henry Honora Foley Property, 14 West Hull Street (1896) – by Henry Urban; also known as the Foley House Inn Julius Perlinski House, 22 West Hull Street (c. 1903)

Northwestern civic/trust block First Baptist Church, 223 Bull Street (1833)

Southwestern civic/trust block Philbrick–Eastman House, 17 West McDonough Street (1847)Philbrick-Eastman House – The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation

Southwestern residential/tything block 3 West Perry Street (1831)Historic Building Map: Savannah Historic District – Historic Preservation Department of the Chatham County-Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission (November 17, 2011), p. 38 – former home of Joseph Frederick Waring John Stoddard House, 15 West Perry Street (1867) Stoddard Row, 19–25 West Perry Street (1854–55) 233 Bull Street (1842) – originally the home of Moses Eastman, later of the Philbrick–Eastman HouseBrown Ward – City of Savannah research paper

Northeastern residential/tything block Board of Education Building, 208 Bull Street (1908–1910)

Northeastern civic/trust block

The Savannah Theatre, 222 Bull Street (1818) – oldest building on the square

Southeastern civic/trust block Julius Koox Duplex, 230–232 Bull Street (1871)

Southeastern residential/tything block 234 Bull Street (c. 1900) 240 Bull Street (1890) Hetty, Abbie & Phillipa Minis House, 11 East Perry Street (c. 1820)

Gallery

References