W. B. Hodgson Hall is a historic building 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, built in 1876. Designed by the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...

' founder

Detlef Lienau Detlef Lienau (17 February 1818 – 29 August 1887) was a German architect born in Holstein. He is credited with having introduced the French style to American building construction, notably the mansard roof and all its decorative flourishes. Trai ...

, it is now the home of

Georgia Historical Society The Georgia Historical Society (GHS) is a statewide historical society in Georgia. Headquartered in Savannah, Georgia, GHS is one of the oldest historical organizations in the United States. Since 1839, the society has collected, examined, and tau ...

's Research Center.Hodgson Hall
–

The building is located at 501 Whitaker Street, in the northwestern corner of

Forsyth Park Forsyth Park (formerly known as the Military Parade Ground)''Charles Seton Henry Hardee's Recollections of old Savannah'', Martha Gallaudet Waring, ''The Georgia Historical Quarterly'', JSTOR (1929), p. 34 is a large city park that occupies in ...

William B. Hodgson

The building was a gift of Margaret Telfair Hodgson and her sister,

Mary Telfair Mary Telfair (January 28, 1791 – June 2, 1875)Mary Telfair
–

(see

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. O ...

), as a memorial to Margaret's husband, William Brown Hodgson (1801–1871), a prominent Savannah citizen, American diplomat and scholar of the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

. Hodgson died on June 26, 1871, while on a visit to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Hodgson was a member of the Georgia Historical Society, and one of its curators for 25 years. Hodgson is buried in Savannah's

Bonaventure Cemetery Bonaventure Cemetery is a rural cemetery located on a scenic bluff of the Wilmington River, east of Savannah, Georgia. The cemetery became famous when it was featured in the 1994 novel ''Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil'' by John Berendt, ...

. Although he arranged with (and paid) William H. Wiltberger for burial lot 13 of section D, he was interred in lot 19 of the same section. The family of

Noble Jones Noble Jones (1702 – November 2, 1775), an English-born carpenter, was one of the first settlers of the Province of Georgia and one of its leading officials. He was born in Herefordshire. As part of Gen. James Edward Oglethorpe's 42nd (old) Regi ...

, including his son

Noble Wimberly Jones Noble Wimberly Jones (c. 1723 – January 9, 1805) was an American physician and statesman from Savannah, Georgia. A leading Georgia patriot in the American Revolution, he served as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1781 and 1782. ...

, occupies lot 13.''Historic Bonaventure Cemetery: Photographs from the Collection of the Georgia Historical Society'', Amie Marie Wilson, Mandi Dale Johnson,

(1998), p. 20

References

{{Registered Historic Places Buildings and structures completed in 1876 Office buildings in Savannah, Georgia National Register of Historic Places in Savannah, Georgia Libraries on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state) Savannah Historic District