OurCoast.com :: Savannah City Guide

Courtesy of Best Read Guide

Calhoun Square, named for South Carolina statesman John C. Calhoun, lies on Abercorn Street between Taylor and Gordon Streets. The square is also notable for being the only one in the Historic District with all its original buildings intact.

The two most significant structures on the square are the Massie Heritage School and the Wesley Monumental United Methodist Church. The Massie School was first endowed in 1841 by a Scotsman planter named Peter Massie, who believed in offering poor children an education equal to that of their wealthier peers. The school building was designed by noted architect John Norris, whose local extant works include the Green-Meldrim House on Madison Square, the Andrew Low House on Lafayette Square, and the Mercer House on Monterey Square. Norris designed primarily in the Greek Revival style, and the Massie School, completed in 1856, features that style's distinguishing characteristics of a temple facade - three of them, in fact, which gives the building the appearance of housing three separate structures in one. In addition, the columns are set into the wall but appear in relief.

During Savannah's occupation by Northern troops it was used as a military hospital, but was returned after the war to its intended use and remained in operation until 1974. Today one of its classrooms has been restored and the building may be toured by the public.

Catercorner to the Massie School stands the Wesley Monumental United Methodist Church, an edifice that lives up to its extraordinary name. Constructed in the Gothic Revival Style, the church stands in honor of brothers Charles and John Wesley, who came individually to Savannah in the early years to minister to the needs of the population. Their history need not be recounted here; suffice it to say that they were dismayed by the astounding lack of spiritual progress evinced by Savannah's citizenry, who, in turn, came to cordially dislike each of them in turn. Each returned to England, where Charles gained fame as a hymnist, and John broke from Anglicanism to become the leader of the nascent Methodist movement. The church itself features two tall and elaborate cupolas, as well as richly detailed windows. Of note is the church's stained glass, which was designed and installed by Louis Tiffany.

John C. Calhoun, for whom the square was named, was a famous statesman and firebrand of the first half on the nineteenth century. Today Calhoun Square is rather more tranquil, a fine place to read the paper, share a picnic, or to sit and ponder the myriad people who have created Savannah's rich, varied history.