A City of Squares – Savannah, Georgia

Savannah prides itself as being a very walkable city, and it certainly is. Its layout is a straightforward grid highlighted by numerous tree shrouded and flower laden squares. Also, there’s usually a grave site and some sort of story to go with it. Yet, interestingly enough, most often the square’s name does not reflect the person buried there! All the buildings throughout the city have been painstakingly restored, or, if constructed anew, maintain the historical architectural theme.

What we did

She said

I love the trolley system in Savannah. In that it was raining on and off all day, we could stay on the trolley for the full ride and listen to a humorous narrative or hop on and off and explore different locations. We learned much about the city and it was fun to browse the numerous speciality shops, especially those along River Street by The Savannah River. There was one shop, in particular, where you could sample all kinds of nuts. Who needs lunch???

I’m a big fan the “The Ghost Hunters” on the Sy Fy channel (used to be Sci Fi). I just love Jason and Grant. Roto Rooters by day, ghost hunters at night. What could be better! Bill knew I was a fan because I had to cut off one of our phone conversations to watch the “new” episode airing that night. With this in mind, Bill scheduled a ghost hunting tour of Savannah. One of the houses we visited was actually featured on the show–and I had seen it! The tour guide reiterated what Jason and Grant had experienced. We , however, experienced nothing. The tour ended with a dinner (home style buffet) in another supposedly haunted place. Again–nothing!! If it weren’t for the Captain Jack Sparrow look-a-like who wandered among the diners, I’d probably would have forgotten this restaurant all together! Oh well…….

He said

Savannah walkable? Yes, but don’t try to do it from one end to the other. We purchased a $20, unlimited, two day pass for the trolley system. This was especially convenient given the relentless rain we encountered! The route covered all the “hot spots” and provided easy on and off for everything we could imagine seeing. Beyond the convenience, the trolley drivers offered an interesting narrative of the sites which made selecting things to do easy. I remember two squares in particular. One was Chippewa City Park where Forrest Gump sat with his chocolates (the bench proved to be too popular and has been removed). The other was Wright Square, where chief Tomo-chi-chi of the Yamacraw Indians has been buried since 1739! What is unique about Wright Square is no Spanish Moss grows on its oak trees! Two different tales attempt to explain this phenomena. One has to do with William Washington Gordon, a descendant of George Washington and former mayor of Savannah, who is commemorated by a monument in the center of the square. It seems he believed that Spanish Moss was the conduit for malaria which plagued the area in the early 1800′s. He contracted a fever as a result of trying to strip it from the trees on his plantation, which, incidentally, was given to him by George, himself, for his efforts during the revolutionary war. The other has to do with Alice Riley, an indentured servant to William Wise who lived on the square. It seems she was carrying her master’s baby and was killed immediately after the baby was born. She is said to haunt the square and is the cause for “no moss”. My take is the local chamber of commerce maintains the mossless square to substantiate the stories.

Ghosts and hauntings are a prevalent theme in most of the old buildings, cemeteries and squares of Savannah. So, not wanting to miss out on this, we also took a “Ghost Tour”. Our evening tour involved another trolley, with the driver again providing a very entertaining dialogue, trying her best to make things believable. I guess what tipped me off to the blatant commercialism was, upon viewing a passenger’s photo from a cemetery, the rain drops that were illuminated by the flash were dubbed “orbs”, or floating heads of ghosts! Give me a break!!

But all this said, I’d visit again as Savannah was a very enchanting place and there is much to see. I would just hope to catch better weather!

Category: Savannah, Georgia, South, United States, what we didTags: bird-baldwin house, ghost tours, savannah, savannah history, scad, vrbo |