Telfair Square was not always the name for this piece of park at the intersection of Barnard and West President streets, between West State and West York streets. Originally named St. James Square in 1733, it received a new moniker a century later. In 1883 it became Telfair Square. Edward Telfair and his family emigrated from Scotland and generously contributed to Savannah’s cultural and economic growth.
The square isn’t the only honor to their contributions. The Telfair Museum of Art and Jepson Center for the Arts both open up to the square, as well as the Trinity United Methodist Church. Telfair Academy of Arts & Sciences was established because Mary Telfair, Edward’s daughter who passed in 1875, left in her will that the residence was to be used as a public academy of arts and sciences. Jefferson Davis and his daughter, General Henry R. Jackson and General Moxley Sorrel, among others, attended the building’s formal dedication on May 3, 1886.
Telfair Academy
The square has two monuments, one of which honors of the Girl Scouts and another of a chambered nautilus. The square is also home to the Trinity Methodist Church, which is the oldest Methodist congregation in the city. Architect John B. Hogg designed Trinity Methodist in the Greek Revival style.
