Madison Square (Savannah, Georgia)

Madison Square

The William Jasper Monument in the square
Namesake	James Madison
Maintained by	City of Savannah
Location	Savannah, Georgia, U.S.
Coordinates	32°04′25″N 81°05′38″W / 32.0735°N 81.0939°W / 32.0735; -81.0939
North	Bull Street
East	East Macon Street
South	Bull Street
West	West Macon Street
Construction
Completion	1837 (187 years ago) (1837)

Madison Square is one of the 22 squares of Savannah, Georgia, United States. It is located in the fourth row of the city's five rows of squares, on Bull Street and Macon Street, and was laid out in 1837. It is south of Chippewa Square, west of Lafayette Square, north of Monterey Square and east of Pulaski Square. The square is named for James Madison, fourth president of the United States. The oldest building on the square is the Sorrel–Weed House, at 6 West Harris Street, which dates to 1840.^[1]

In the center of the square is the William Jasper Monument, an 1888 work by Alexander Doyle memorializing Sergeant William Jasper, a soldier in the siege of Savannah who, though mortally wounded, recovered his company's banner.^[2] Savannahians sometimes refer to this as Jasper Square, in honor of Jasper's statue.^[3]

Madison Square features a vintage cannon from the Savannah Armory.^[4] These now mark the starting points of the first highways in Georgia, the Ogeechee Road, leading to Darien, and the Augusta Road.^[2][5]

The square also includes a monument marking the center of the British resistance during the siege.^[6]

The Masonic Hall, at 341 Bull Street, was designed by Hyman Witcover, also the architect of Savannah City Hall.^[7]

In 1971 Savannah landscape architect Clermont Huger Lee and Mills B. Lane planned and initiated a project to install new walk patterns with offset sitting areas and connecting walks at curbs, add new benches, lighting and planting.^[8]

Namesake	Image	Note
James Madison		The square is named for James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States.

Object	Image	Note
William Jasper Monument		Madison Square and the William Jasper Monument.
Historical marker		The square's historical marker, erected by the Georgia Historical Commission in 1958.
Historical marker		Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry historical marker, erected in 1969.
Historical marker		Cannon.

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.

• 
  The DeSoto Hotel, 15 East Liberty Street
• 
  Green–Meldrim House, 14 West Macon Street
• 
  Poetter Hall, 342 Bull Street
• 
  Sorrel–Weed House, 6 West Harris Street
• 
  St. John's Episcopal Church, 325 Bull Street
• 
  Eliza Ann Jewett House, 326 Bull Street
• 
  Eliza Ann Jewett Row House, 18–24 East Macon Street
• 
  Masonic Temple, 341 Bull Street
• 
  Daniel Purse Row House, 5–9 West Charlton Street
• 
  Daniel Robertson Property (1), 11–17 West Charlton Street
• 
  Daniel Robertson Property (2), 19 West Charlton Street
• 
  Daniel Robertson Property (3), 23–25 West Charlton Street
• 
  Francis Sorrel Property, 12 West Harris Street
• 
  Eugenia & Louisa Kerr Duplex, 14–18 West Harris Street
• 
  Eliza Ann Jewett Property (3), 20–22 West Harris Street
• 
  John Gallie Property, 26 West Harris Street