Legendary Savannah's Forsyth Park, Mercer Williams House Museum, and Sorrel-Weed House Museum

General William Sherman's headquarters

Established in 1733, this southern gem was the grand design of General James Oglethorpe. Its formation was patterned after a Chinese city. Noted Architect, John Massengale, called this city's layout "the most intelligent grid in America, perhaps the world". Instead of burning it to the ground, General William Sherman presented it to President Lincoln as a Christmas gift. As a travel destination, it ranks number three in the United States according to the Travel + Leisure World's Best Awards 2024 reader's survey.

Savannah, Georgia is dotted with picturesque miniature parks called squares, rightly named the "crown jewels" of the city. There is a total of 22 remaining today. Many are dominated by a monument featuring a famous dignitary who played an important part in its history and growth. Originally, they were used by the militia for practice and drills but now are gathering places for citizens and visitors. Each are shaded by huge live oak trees, beautifully landscaped, and surrounded by inns, shops, restaurants, museums, churches, and majestic estate homes available for you to tour.

On our way to Savannah, we made a stop at the Sheldon Church Ruins in Beaufort County, SC, which would turn out to be a fortuitous decision. From there, it was another hour drive to Savannah. Our accommodations for our two-night stay was in the Historic District at the Cambria Hotel on Montgomery Street. It turned out to be a good location because it put us within decent walking distance to the landmarks and points of interest we wanted to see. We were about a half a mile from East Bay Street and a little less than a half mile from the famous and stunning Forsyth Park, a must see when visiting the city.

Forsyth Park is a massive 30-acre park. It was the first landmark we targeted as we made our way down Whitaker Street past four of the city's picturesque squares, Palaskie Square, Madison Square, Chatham Square, and Monterey Square. It is three blocks wide, spanning from Whitaker Street to Drayton Street. Its vastness becomes obvious as you stand at its entrance on Gaston and Bull Streets--a tree-lined green space leading to an inspirational white fountain and extending beyond as far as you can see. The famous fountain was modeled after the fountains at the Place de la Concorde in Paris. The perfect place for family pictures, selfies, and contemplation, which we did.

Moving past the fountain, you come to a building called The Fort on Forsyth where there is a restaurant, children's playgrounds, and a huge domed stage for concerts. Continuing further, you come to a tall Civil War Monument, and beyond that, acres and acres of green grass for setting up picnics and playing sports. The sun was getting low in the sky, so we made our way back toward our hotel, walking past the nearby squares, picking out the estate homes we were interested in touring on our next day--the Mercer William House Museum and The Old Sorrel-Weed House Museum.

The Mercer Williams House Museum is one of the largest homes in Savannah, covering a full block. Even though the house bears the Williams name, no one from the Mercer Williams' family ever lived in the house. John R. Wilder bought it and completed its construction. The house and carriage house are both constructed with deep rose-colored bricks called 'Philadelphia Reds'. Its architectural design adds Renaissance Revival elements to a standard mix of Greek and Italianate. The house maintains its original moldings, windows, doorways, hand-railings, interior shutters, flooring and famous interior dome with stained glass fitted in 1868 when construction on the home was finished. Its 60-foot entrance hall retains its original ceramic tile made in England at Stoke-on-Trent.

The house was slated to be demolished. In 1969, James A. Williams, one of Savannah’s earliest and most dedicated private preservationists, bought the vacant property and began a two-year restoration of the house that would become his permanent residence. Thus, we have the famous Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. I will not go into detail about the true murder story. You will have to read the book, watch the movie, or go to Savannah and do the tour to get the facts. However, I do enthusiastically suggest the tour. It is fascinating, and our guide was excellent. I have no pictures of the Mercer House gardens or interior. You are not permitted to take photographs once you leave the carriage house, where the tour begins. However, I will say, it was stunning. Interesting fact--James Williams had a cat named Sheldon, who came from the Sheldon Church in South Carolina, according to the guide. Tour cost--$13.50 per person.

The Sorrel-Weed House and Carriage House Museum was our next tour. We were encouraged to take as many photographs as we wanted to. This house is famous for its ghost stories and is considered the most haunted house in Savannah. However, we did not do the nighttime ghost tour, we did the history tour. The tour began in the gardens, moved to the carriage house, then to the ground level floor, and finally to the main floors. The tour guide told story after story of the three different owners and the people who served them as we moved from place to place, some historically fascinating, some diabolically gruesome. Wealthy French Hatian merchant Francis Sorrel, the original owner, hosted well known guests like Robert E. Lee and the Sorrel family's many famed parties. It was the first home in the State of Georgia to be designated a state landmark. Enjoy the photographs. Tour cost--$14 per person.

Savannah's history oozes with charm. Its architecture dates back more than 200 years. Many of the city's oldest houses and buildings have been transformed into museums over the years. You'll find that Savannah is legendary for its unique old-world antebellum architecture, her cobblestone streets, beautifully landscaped garden squares, and world-renowned parks. Small shops and fine eating establishments small and large are aplenty. One visit is not enough. Two visits are not enough. Three visits are not enough. I will go as far as to say, no number of visits is enough to take in all that is Savannah.

Hauntingly Imposing--Sheldon Church Ruins of Prince William's Parish

The sky was blue and the air was crisp on this late December day. A slight breeze playfully shuffled the fallen leaves laying about the sacred grounds. The bright early afternoon light lazily trickled down through the twisted limbs of the numerous aged oaks scattered about. The shadows cast unto the old structure by the tree's were as distinct as its illumination from the sun. The combined setting embodied a sense of serenity and solitude overshadowed by an unmistakable aura of desolation. Denuded of anything flammable, the time-stressed bricks of the old church bore the erosion marks of passing time indelibly etched over some 265 years into their sandy red grains. Just beyond its four singular pillars and mounted at its gaping entrance, an engraved stone plaque identified the antiquated edifice as the Church of Prince William's Parish known as Sheldon.

The historical record etched unto the stone plaque was brief, yet concise. It stated the church was built between 1745-1755, burned by the British Army 1779, rebuilt 1826, and burned by the Federal Army 1865. On Old Sheldon Church Rd, located at its street entrance, the historic marker supplemented a few more details to the narrative. In addition, it related the church was Anglican, primarily paid for by Lieutenant Governor William Bull I, and named after the ancestral home of the Bull Family at Sheldon Hall and Parish of Warwickshire, England.

William Bull was a land owner and politician in early South Carolina. His father was Stephen Bull, who was also Lord Anthony Ashley Cooper's deputy and one of the leaders of the expedition which came from England in 1670 and settled Charles Town. In 1733, William assisted James Oglethorpe in the founding of the new Province of Georgia and assisted General Oglethorpe in establishing the physical layout of Savannah, Georgia by surveying the land to form the basic grid pattern of the streets and squares. As a land owner, his Newbury Plantation bordered the church grounds where he is buried along with other South Carolina leaders.

The South Carolina Department of Archives and History gives a detailed description of what the
original church looked liked. It is said to be the first conscious attempt in America to imitate a Greek temple. Completed by 1753, Sheldon Church's walls were three-and-one-half foot thick and built along a row of seven Tuscan columns (six engaged, one outstanding). The western facade had an elegant portico, crowned by a triangular pediment with bulls-eye window and cornice with dentils. The large front doorway had a fanlight above and two round-headed windows, symmetrically spaced, on either side. On the north, five bays between the engaged columns were filled with a single tier of tall, round-headed windows; the other bay was left open for a portico. At the eastern end, above the alter, was a Palladian window, with a round-headed window to each side.

The Archives also mention the two crucial events pertaining to its burning. Sheldon Church was burned by General Augustine Prevost's British troops in May of 1779. General Sherman's 15th Corps under General John Logan burned it on January 14, 1865. A recent discovery has presented an alternate view as to what happened at the end of the Civil War. In a letter dated February 3, 1866, Miton Leverett wrote that "Sheldon Church not burn't. Just torn up in the inside, but can be repaired." It is possible the inside of the church was gutted to reuse materials for the rebuilding of homes burnt by Sherman's army. Either way, it was never repaired and was abandoned to the merciless rigors of time, but not forgotten.

Visitors from all over the country come to the Sheldon Church ruins to photograph its majestic remains and solemnly stroll its sacred grounds. One visitor wrote these well chosen words describing his visit: "It's hard to find the right words to describe the feeling that washes over you as you walk up to this place. Even writing this review I can feel a flood of emotions rushing back as I remember the time I spent here just taking the life of this place in. The ruins carry their own self being the projects upon its visitors as they walk the grounds."

Wedding ceremonies have been held in the ruins of Sheldon Church, but since 2015 it was no longer available to the public for such ceremonies. The day I visited, which was on a Friday, there was a steady flow of visitors, but never more than ten people.

Photographs from 1940 shows Sheldon Church Ruins overgrown

People have inquired whether there are any ghost stories associated with the Sheldon Church Ruins. Like most historic southern ruins with long and tragic histories, one would presume it to be the perfect candidate. The most well-known tale tells of a woman being seen dressed in a Pilgrim style brown dress and other accounts of strange activities, such as heavy footsteps being heard, and unexplained flashing lights. Ensuing investigations have been made and nothing out of the ordinary has been found. It definitely is a place where ones imagination could run wild, especially on a hot, humid evening when the sun slips below the mossy old oaks and darkness wistfully creeps through their branches and slowly smothers the dampening grounds.

Take in the setting, contemplate the history, photograph the architecture, the feeling of reverence and awe inspired by the Sheldon Church Ruins is hauntingly imposing. It is worth your consideration as you travel the Lowcountry taking in its colorful and illustrious history dating back to the beginnings of the United States.