Savannah Series: Wright Square
I know, I know, yet another Savannah Square... We hope that we're not boring you with them, but they're all unique and have their own interesting aspects. But if they're getting too much, no worries we're almost done! This article was published first on our Savannah Travel Blog in 2010.
After Johnson, Savannah’s second square was laid out in 1733 and named after the Irish politician John Percival, who was involved in the founding of Georgia. Later, however, Percival Square was renamed in honor of Georgia’s last royal governor James Wright.
The marble monument in the middle of the square is to William Washington Gordon, a successful businessman and politician, who was highly-regarded among Savannah society. When he died, his influential friends suggested that the city honor him with a lavish memorial in Wright Square. “There should be no trouble”, they reasoned. “Right now, there are just some Injun bones.”
These weren’t just any Indian bones, though; they were the remains of Tomochichi, who had been buried in the center of the square 144 years prior. The leader of the Yamacraw Tribe had worked with Oglethorpe during Savannah’s harrowing first years, helping the fledgling colony survive, and the city had repaid his kindness with a burial ground in the center of one of its primary squares.
When Gordon’s monument was erected over the bones of Tomochichi, most of the city’s citizens were outraged. In consolation, a memorial stone was placed in a corner of Wright Square, and the nearby Tomochichi Federal Building was named in his honor. Not enough, if you ask me.
There’s always something going on in Wright Square. During our time in Savannah, the northernmost bench in the square was always occupied a big old guy, singing a sort of ad-hoc blues. “Girl, you done me wrong. Girl, why you do that to me? Girl, I wish you was dead“. On our return to Savannah, five years later, he was still there… and his song hadn’t change. Man, that girl must have really done him wrong.
Location on our Savannah Travel Map
-Download Our Savannah Travel Book Here
Learn more about our travel project on Steemit by clicking on the banner above and join our community on Discord.
Poor guy! I wonder how many years he'll still be there :)
You definitely don't bore us with your posts!! :)
Thank you for sharing and also for some interesting facts about this square!
Beautiful series of photos! I haven't been to Savannah in ages, but now I want to go back.
Congratulations, Your Post Has Been Added To The Steemit Worldmap!
Author link: http://steemitworldmap.com?author=for91days
Post link: http://steemitworldmap.com?post=savannah-series-wright-square
Want to have your post on the map too?
There's something about that big tree which is very intriguing, but I can't put my finger on it ...
This trees, especially when covered with Spanish Moss - we loved them.
Congratulations! This post has been upvoted from the communal account, @minnowsupport, by for91days from the Minnow Support Project. It's a witness project run by aggroed, ausbitbank, teamsteem, theprophet0, someguy123, neoxian, followbtcnews, and netuoso. The goal is to help Steemit grow by supporting Minnows. Please find us at the Peace, Abundance, and Liberty Network (PALnet) Discord Channel. It's a completely public and open space to all members of the Steemit community who voluntarily choose to be there.
If you would like to delegate to the Minnow Support Project you can do so by clicking on the following links: 50SP, 100SP, 250SP, 500SP, 1000SP, 5000SP.
Be sure to leave at least 50SP undelegated on your account.
lovely photos and narrative
Of all the places they had to slump it right there. Well, the world...