The Unitarian Universalist Church is a historic church at 325 Habersham Street in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

, United States. It is located in the northwestern civic block of Troup Square. It was designed by noted architect John S. Norris in 1851 and built with funds left in his

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

by Moses Eastman, a local

silversmith A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exactly synonyms as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are or were largely the same but the end product may vary great ...

and councillor. The

Christmas carol A Christmas carol is a carol (a song or hymn) on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French ori ...

Jingle Bells "Jingle Bells" is one of the best-known and most commonly sung American songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont (1822–1893) and published under the title "The One Horse Open Sleigh" in September 1857. It has been claimed th ...

" was written by the church's music director

James Lord Pierpont James Lord Pierpont (April 25, 1822 – August 5, 1893)Lewis, DaveJames Pierpont Biography, AllMusic, retrieved December 16, 2011 was an American songwriter , arranger, organist, Confederate States soldier, and composer, best known for writing ...

(1822–1893), supposedly while living in Savannah."Was ‘Jingle Bells’ actually written in Savannah? Local historian discusses popular holiday song’s origins"
– WSAV, December 25, 2020"Savannah Unitarian Universalist Church celebrates ‘Jingle Bells’ at annual festival"
– ''

Savannah Morning News The ''Savannah Morning News'' is a daily newspaper in Savannah, Georgia. It is published by Gannett. The motto of the paper is "Light of the Coastal Empire and Lowcountry". The paper serves Savannah, its metropolitan area, and parts of South Ca ...

'', December 24, 2017 The city of

Medford, Massachusetts Medford is a city northwest of downtown Boston on the Mystic River in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, Medford's population was 59,659. It is home to Tufts University, which has its campus alo ...

, also claims that the song was written there in 1850, but it has been proven that Pierpont had moved to the west coast to partake in the

California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...

at that point. What is known ''is'' that he ''copyrighted'' the song, with the name "The One Horse Open Sleigh", on September 16, 1857, while he was living in Savannah. The church was physically moved from

Oglethorpe Square Oglethorpe may refer to: People *Oglethorpe (surname) Places * Bramham cum Oglethorpe, West Yorkshire, England * Brookhaven/Oglethorpe (MARTA station), a passenger rail station located in the Brookhaven neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia * Mount Ogl ...

to the western side of Troup Square, a distance of a third of a mile, in 1860.

Gallery

File:Pierpont Jingle Bells Savannah.jpg, Historical marker in Savannah, Georgia

References

External links

Unitarian Universalist Church of Savannah
– official site
''A History of the Unitarian-Universalist Church of Savannah''
– Unitarian-Universalist Church of Savannah Landmarks in Savannah, Georgia Churches in Savannah, Georgia Troup Square buildings Churches completed in 1851 Religious organizations established in 1851 1851 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Savannah Historic District {{GeorgiaUS-church-stub