Chippewa Square (Savannah, Georgia)

Chippewa Square

The south-facing James Oglethorpe Monument, viewed from where the bench in Forrest Gump was located for its 1993 filming
Namesake	Battle of Chippawa
Maintained by	City of Savannah
Location	Savannah, Georgia, U.S.
Coordinates	32°04′33″N 81°05′35″W / 32.0758°N 81.0931°W / 32.0758; -81.0931
North	Bull Street
East	East McDonough Street
South	Bull Street
West	West McDonough Street
Construction
Completion	1815 (209 years ago) (1815)

Chippewa Square is one of the 22 squares of Savannah, Georgia, United States. It is located in the middle row of the city's five rows of squares, on Bull Street and McDonough Street, and was laid out in 1815. It is south of Wright Square, west of Colonial Park Cemetery, north of Madison Square and east of Orleans Square. The oldest building on the square is The Savannah Theatre, at 222 Bull Street, which dates to 1818.

The square is named in honor of American soldiers killed in the Battle of Chippawa during the War of 1812. (The "Chippewa" spelling is correct in reference to this square.)

In the center of the square is the James Oglethorpe Monument, created by sculptor Daniel Chester French and architect Henry Bacon and unveiled in 1910.^[1] Oglethorpe faces south, toward Georgia's one-time enemy in Spanish Florida, and his sword is drawn.^[2] Busts of Confederate figures Francis Stebbins Bartow and Lafayette McLaws were moved from Chippewa Square to Forsyth Park to make room for the Oglethorpe monument.^[3] Due to the location of the monument, Savannahians sometimes refer to this as Oglethorpe Square, but that is located just to the northeast.^[4]

The "park bench" scene which opens the 1994 film Forrest Gump was filmed on the north side of Chippewa Square.^[5] The bench was a fiberglass prop, rather than one of the park's actual benches.^[1] A replica of the prop bench used in the film is on display at the Savannah Visitors Center. The original prop is now kept in Paramount Studios, Los Angeles.^[6]

Chippewa Square is also home to the First Baptist Church (1833),^[7] the Independent Presbyterian Church and the Philbrick–Eastman House (1847).^[8]

Namesake	Image	Note
Battle of Chippawa		The square is named for the Battle of Chippawa, a conflict during the War of 1812.

Object	Image	Note
James Oglethorpe Monument		James Oglethorpe Monument in the center of the square.
Historical marker		Historical marker for the monument, erected by the Georgia Historical Commission in 1957.
Historical marker		Historical marker for the square, laid in 1815.

Each building below is in one of the eight blocks around the square composed of four residential "tything" blocks and four civic ("trust") blocks, now known as the Oglethorpe Plan. They are listed with construction years where known.

• 
  Board of Education Building (western half; Bull Street facade), 208 Bull Street
• 
  Board of Education Building (eastern rear half), 208 Bull Street
• 
  The Savannah Theatre, 222 Bull Street
• 
  Julius Koox Duplex, 230–232 Bull Street
• 
  234 Bull Street
• 
  240 Bull Street
• 
  Hetty, Abbie & Phillipa Minis House, 11 East Perry Street
• 
  3 West Perry Street
• 
  John Stoddard House, 15 West Perry Street
• 
  Stoddard Row, 19–25 West Perry Street
• 
  Philbrick–Eastman House, 17 West McDonough Street
• 
  First Baptist Church, 223 Bull Street
• 
  Foley House Inn, 14 West Hull Street
• 
  Julius Perlinski House, 22 West Hull Street
• 
  Independent Presbyterian Church, 207 Bull Street
• 
  Independent Presbyterian Church School Building, 207 Bull Street