Reynolds Square
Haunted Sites

Reynolds Square

Photo: Ken Lund · CC BY-SA 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

The square beside the Olde Pink House, listed among the haunted squares on the #1 Ghost Tour self-guided route.

Address
Abercorn St between E Bryan St & E Congress St, Savannah, GA 31401
Hours
Check the official website or call ahead for current hours.
Admission
Free (public space).
Access
open to public (city square)

About

Reynolds Square is one of the 22 squares of Savannah, Georgia, United States. It is located in the northernmost row of the city's five rows of squares, on Abercorn Street and East St. Julian Street. It is east of Johnson Square, west of Warren Square and north of Oglethorpe Square. The oldest building on the square is The Olde Pink House (originally Habersham House), which dates to 1771.

Originally called Lower New Square (due to its being the first one laid out, in 1734, after the original four), it was later renamed for Captain John Reynolds, governor of Georgia in the mid-1750s. Reynolds was, in fact, an unpopular governor, and it is said that the celebration held upon his arrival in the colony was rivaled only by that held upon his departure.

The square contains a bronze statue, by Marshall Daugherty, honoring John Wesley, founder of Methodism. Wesley spent most of his life in England but undertook a mission to Savannah between 1735 and 1738, during which time he founded the first Sunday school in America. The statue was installed in 1969 on the spot where Wesley's home is believed to have stood. The statue is intended to show Wesley preaching out-of-doors as he did when leading services for Native Americans, a practice which angered church elders who believed that the Gospel should only be preached inside the church building. Sculptor Marshall said: "The moment is as he looks up from his Bible toward his congregation, about to speak and stretching out his right hand in love, invitation, and exhortation. In contrast, the hand holding the Bible is intense and powerful – the point of contact with the Almighty."

Reynolds Square was the site of the Filature, which housed silkworms as part of an early—and unsuccessful—attempt to establish a silk industry in the Georgia colony.

Text from Wikipedia, Reynolds Square (Savannah, Georgia), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

What to see

  • Habersham House
  • Planters Inn
  • Oliver Sturges House
  • The Hunter–Mackay House
  • Christ Church parish house
  • Lucas Theatre

Named in the Wikipedia article cited below.

Tips

  • Savannah's squares are public spaces you can walk through at any time.
  • Featured on 1 ghost tour; see the links below.

Featured on

Nearby

Sources

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