Telfair Square is one of the 22 squares of Savannah, Georgia, United States. It is located in the second row of the city's five rows of squares, on

Barnard Street Barnard Street is a prominent street in Savannah, Georgia, United States. Located between Jefferson Street to the west and Whitaker Street to the east, it runs for about from West Bay Street in the north to West 52nd Street in the south. ...

and West President Street, and was laid out in 1733 as one of the first four squares. It is south of Ellis Square, west of

Wright Square Wright is an occupational surname originating in England. The term 'Wright' comes from the circa 700 AD Old English word 'wryhta' or 'wyrhta', meaning worker or shaper of wood. Later it became any occupational worker (for example, a shipwright is ...

and north of Orleans Square. Liberty Square formerly stood to its west but was later paved over. The oldest building on the square is

Telfair Academy The Telfair Academy is a historic mansion at 121 Barnard Street in Savannah, Georgia. It was designed by William Jay and built in 1818, and is one of a small number of Jay's surviving works. It is one of three sites owned by Telfair Museums. Or ...

, at 121 Barnard Street, which dates to 1818–1820. Originally named St. James Square, in honor of a green space in London, and marked one of the most fashionable neighborhoods in early Savannah,Chan Sieg (1984). ''The squares: an introduction to Savannah''.

Virginia Beach Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

: Donning. it was renamed in 1883 to honor the Telfair family.''Savannah Scene''
magazine, May–June 2007, pp 10–11, accessed June 16, 2007. It is the only square honoring a family rather than an individual. The Telfairs included former

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Edward Telfair Edward Telfair (1735 – September 17, 1807) was a Scottish-born American Founding Father, politician and slave trader who served as the governor of Georgia from 1786 to 1787 and again from 1790 to 1793. He was a member of the Continental Congres ...

Congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

Thomas Telfair Thomas Telfair (March 2, 1780 – February 18, 1818) was a United States representative from Georgia. Born in Savannah, the third of four sons of Governor Edward Telfair, he graduated from the College of New Jersey in 1805. He went on to study ...

(Edward Telfair's son), and his daughter Mary Telfair (1791–1875), benefactor of Savannah's

Telfair Museum of Art Telfair Museums, in the historic district of Savannah, Georgia, was the first public art museum in the Southern United States. Founded through the bequest of Mary Telfair (1791–1875), a prominent local citizen, and operated by the Georgia Histo ...

. The square also contains tributes to the

Girl Scouts of the USA Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA), commonly referred to as simply Girl Scouts, is a youth organization for girls in the United States and American girls living abroad. Founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912, it was organized a ...

, founded by Savannahian

Juliette Gordon Low Juliette Gordon Low (October 31, 1860 – January 17, 1927) was the American founder of Girl Scouts of the USA. Inspired by the work of Lord Baden-Powell, founder of Boy Scouts, she joined the Girl Guide movement in England, forming her own gro ...

, and to the

chambered nautilus The chambered nautilus (''Nautilus pompilius''), also called the pearly nautilus, is the best-known species of nautilus. The shell, when cut away, reveals a lining of lustrous nacre and displays a nearly perfect equiangular spiral, although it ...

.Tour Guide Manual
for licensed tour guides in the City of Savannah, accessed June 16, 2007.

Dedication

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 The Oglethorpe Plan is an urban planning idea that was most notably used in Savannah, Georgia, one of the Thirteen Colonies, in the 18th century. The plan uses a distinctive street network with repeating squares of residential blocks, commercia ...

. They are listed with construction years where known. Three of the blocks have no notable buildings, according to a study by the Historic Preservation Department of the Chatham County-Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission,Historic Preservation Department of the Chatham County-Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission
(November 17, 2011) hence only five are inventoried below. ;Northwestern residential/tything block *110 Jefferson Street (1930) *218 West State Street (1904) *223 (1–6) West Broughton Street (1896/1920) *223 (A) West Broughton Street (1917) *221 West Broughton Street (1901) *217 West Broughton Street (1901) *203–207 West Broughton Street (1889) *201 West Broughton Street (1900) ;Southwestern civic/trust block * Trinity Methodist Church, 127 Barnard Street (1848) ;Northwestern civic/trust block *Telfair Academy, 121 Barnard Street (1820) – by William Jay; part of

Telfair Museums Telfair Museums, in the historic district of Savannah, Georgia, was the first public art museum in the Southern United States. Founded through the bequest of Mary Telfair (1791–1875), a prominent local citizen, and operated by the Georgia Histo ...

(enlarged and altered in the 1880s); oldest building on the square ;Southwestern residential/tything block *136 Jefferson Street (1884) *Robert Walker Row House, 213–223 West York Street (1905) ;Northeastern residential/tything block *Henry Hayme Building, 114 Barnard Street (1889)Historic Building Map: Savannah Historic District
– Historic Preservation Department of the Chatham County-Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission (November 17, 2011), p. 20 *122 West State Street (1889) *110 West State Street (1889) *109–119 Whitaker Street (1890) *236 West Broughton Street (1889) *121 West Broughton Street (1889) *117–119 West Broughton Street (1890) *113 West Broughton Street (1890) *109 West Broughton Street (1975) *107 West Broughton Street (1935) *105 West Broughton Street (1866)

Gallery

File:Henry Hayme Building.jpg, Henry Hayme Building, 114 Barnard Street File:Walker Row House.jpg, Robert Walker Row House, 213–223 West York Street File:Trinity Methodist Church - August 9, 2020.jpg, Trinity Methodist Church, 127 Barnard Street File:Telfair Academy close.jpg, A closer view of Telfair Academy, 121 Barnard Street

References

{{Squares of Savannah, Georgia Telfair Square, Savannah 1733 establishments in the Thirteen Colonies