The oldest city in Georgia
Historic Savannah
Savannah's history is written in its squares, its homes, its museums, and its churches, the largest National Historic Landmark District in the United States.
This page is the careful orientation: the squares, the architecture, the museums, the walking routes, and the history told straight, without oversimplifying the difficult subjects.
The founding
How Savannah was laid out
James Oglethorpe and the first settlers landed on a bluff above the Savannah River in 1733 and laid the city out on a grid of wards, each with a public square. That original plan survives, which is why the Historic District reads as a series of shaded squares connected by streets. The city grew on the river trade, cotton, and the port, and it carries a deep and complicated history, including the central role of slavery in the plantation economy and the city's African American history, told honestly at sites like the Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters and the First African Baptist Church.
The Historic District is the largest National Historic Landmark District in the United States, and it is best seen on foot: the squares, the 19th-century homes, the churches, and the monuments are all connected by the original grid.
The museums
The history rooms
Telfair Museums
The Telfair Academy, the Jepson Center, and the Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters, the city's art and history museums.
Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters
The 1819 Regency mansion and its preserved slave quarters, which tell the full story of the household, including the enslaved people who lived and worked there.
Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum
The maritime museum in a historic mansion on the river, ship models and Savannah's seafaring history.
First African Baptist Church
One of the oldest African American Baptist congregations in the country, a landmark of Savannah's African American history.
The architecture
Homes, churches, and monuments
Cathedral of St. John the Baptist
222 East Harris Street
The landmark French Gothic cathedral with its twin spires and painted interior.
The Davenport House
324 East State Street
The 1820 Federal-style home that sparked the preservation movement that saved the Historic District.
The Andrew Low House
329 Abercorn Street
The 1849 house of cotton merchant Andrew Low, a Historic District landmark.
Savannah's Historic Squares
The squares, one by one
Forsyth Park vicinity
The great green at Gaston and Drayton
Not one of the original Oglethorpe squares but the city's signature park, the fountain, the oaks, and the Fragrant Garden.
Chippewa Square
Bull and McDonough Streets
The square with the Oglethorpe statue, made famous by the bench scene in the film Forrest Gump.
Johnson Square
Bull and St. Julian Streets
The first square laid out in 1733, the city's original public square, with the Nathanael Greene monument.
Wright Square
Bull and State Streets
The square with the Tomochichi monument, honoring the Yamacraw chief who helped the settlers.
Madison Square
Bull and Macon Streets
The square with the monument to Sergeant William Jasper and the Sorrel-Weed House nearby.
Monterey Square
Bull and Wayne Streets
The square with the Pulaski monument and the Mercer-Williams House, of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil fame.
Lafayette Square
Abercorn and Macon Streets
The square with the Andrew Low House and the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist nearby.
Columbia Square
Habersham and East State Streets
The square with the Wormsloe fountain and the Davenport House nearby.
Telfair Square
Barnard and West State Streets
The square with the Telfair Academy and the Jepson Center, the city's art museums.
The walking route
How to see the Historic District
The classic walk starts at Johnson Square and moves south along Bull Street through Wright, Chippewa, and Madison to Monterey Square, then west to Forsyth Park and back up the eastern squares. It is a few miles of shaded streets, and it covers the monuments, the homes, and the churches in one afternoon. The Historic District page carries the full orientation, and the tours page lists the guided options.
Plan the visit
The rest of historic Savannah
The Historic District, River Street, and Forsyth Park each have their own page.
An editorial guide, not a listings site. Updated September 22, 2026. Real-estate guidance on this page is provided by Rob Dietrich, REALTOR® with eXp Realty, LLC.