Chatham Square

Located in Savannah are The Squares which the city was created around, they were originally created as a space for military exercises. Over the centuries many squares have been created in the honor of persons or historical events and contain markers or monuments.

Chatham Square was laid in 1847 then named in 1851 for the 1st Earl of Chatham, William Pitt. Pitt was a supporter of the Georgia colony. This square is located on Bernard Street and locals refer to the square as Barnard Square in reference to the school which was located adjacent to the square for many years.

Each square is approximately 200 feet from north to south and is intersected north-south and east-west by two-way streets. All traffic flows counterclockwise around the squares. The squares have been called, the most intelligent grid in American and is one of the finest diagrams for city organization and they are listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Originally there were to be six squares in the city, yet with the city growing in size the grid and squares were extended and there are now twenty four squares. The squares have helped to stabilize neighborhood in Savannah that were deteriorating and have revitalized the downtown commercial district. The squares are a major tourist destination with millions of people visiting the squares each year.