OurCoast.com :: Savannah City Guide

1 W. Macon St. 912-232-1251

From crenelated parapet to metal-studded portal, the design is Gothic and the mood medieval. First owner was cotton merchant Charles Green; John S. Norris was builder and architect. Union General William Tecumseh Sherman had headquarters here when Savannah surrendered to him toward the end of the Civil War. Sherman sent the following telegram to President Abraham Lincoln in December, 1864: "I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah..." A later owner was Judge Peter Meldrim, mayor of Savannah, and father of beautiful daughters. Toward the end of her long life, Sophie Meldrim Shonnard was still beautiful as she adjusted her pink boa in her apartment on Perry Street, asking just the right questions to make each guest feel special. The house became a National Historic Landmark in 1976 and is also known as the St John's Episcopal Church Parish House.