Why Forsyth Park Isn't One of Savannah's Original 24 Squares
Forsyth Park is free, open to the public, and sits just south of Savannah's original grid of public squares. Unlike those squares, which date to the city's 1733 founding under the Oglethorpe Plan, Forsyth Park was laid out later, in the 1840s, as the city expanded beyond its original boundaries. It's home to Savannah's most photographed fountain, a genuine 19th-century addition rather than a piece of the original colonial-era plan.
Why Forsyth Park's 1840s date matters for understanding what's original and what's not
Forsyth Park was added roughly a century after Oglethorpe's original 1733 grid, so it represents a later phase of the city's growth, not one of the founding squares that anchor the rest of the National Historic Landmark district.
Why "free and open to the public" is worth stating plainly, not assuming
There's no admission fee for the park or its fountain, so it's a genuinely accessible stop that fits into any Savannah itinerary without ticketing logistics, unlike some other landmarks covered elsewhere on this site.
Why the fountain's fame doesn't make it the park's only notable feature
While the fountain draws most of the attention, the park itself spans genuinely walkable green space south of the historic squares, worth allotting time to the broader park, not just the fountain photo stop.
What This Means for Planning a Visit
The practical takeaway is that Forsyth Park is a free, later addition to Savannah's historic core, worth visiting as its own destination rather than assuming it's simply another one of the original 22 squares. Savannah's broader Historic District is covered on its own city page.