Green-Meldrim House

Green-Meldrim House
Green-Meldrim House in 2015
Location Savannah, Georgia
Coordinates 32°4′26″N 81°5′41″W / 32.07389°N 81.09472°WCoordinates: 32°4′26″N 81°5′41″W / 32.07389°N 81.09472°W
Built 1850
Architect John S. Norris
Architectural style Gothic Revival
Governing body Private
NRHP Reference # 74000664
Significant dates
Added to NRHP January 21, 1974[1]
Designated NHL May 11, 1976[2]

The Green-Meldrim House is a historic house located in Savannah, Georgia. It is located at 14 West Macon Street, on the northwest corner of Madison Square[3][4] and was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1976.[5][6]

History

The Entrance Hall in 1864, when it was being used as General Sherman's Headquarters. 1864 sketch by William Waud.

The house was designed and built between 1853 and 1861 at a cost of $93,000 by the architect John Norris.[7][8] The property's first owner was Charles Green, a wealthy cotton merchant and grandfather of the writer Julien Green.[9]

At this time, none of the original furniture is on display at the house. After the Union troops captured Savannah in 1864, Sherman occupied the house and used it as a headquarters until the end of the Civil War.[10] It was in this house in December 1864 that Sherman composed his famous telegram to President Lincoln, in which he communicated his desire to present to the President "as a Christmas Gift the City of Savannah, with one hundred and fifty heavy guns and plenty of ammunition, and also about twenty-five thousand bales of cotton"; the cotton belonged to Charles Green, the owner of the House.[11][12] In 1892, local politician and judge Peter Meldrim purchased the property and lived in it a number of decades.[13] In 1943, his heirs sold the house to St John's Church, which is located next door. Tours of the house are given during the day, and the church uses it for wedding receptions and after-church events.[14]

Architectural style

It is among the best-known examples of the Gothic Revival style in the South, and has a cast-iron porch, oriel windows, and an imposing front cast-iron fence.

Photos

References

  1. ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2007-01-23.
  2. ↑ "Green-Meldrim House". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved 2008-06-21.
  3. ↑ "Savannah, GA - Official Website". savannahga.gov. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  4. ↑ "Madison Square". visit-historic-savannah.com. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  5. ↑ "Lists of National Historic Landmarks". National Park Service.
  6. ↑ http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1429&ResourceType=Building
  7. ↑ "Norris, John S. (1804-1876)". ncsu.edu. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  8. ↑ "John Norris (1804-1876)". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  9. ↑ "Julien Green (1900-1998)". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  10. ↑ "Green-Meldrim House". visit-historic-savannah.com. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  11. ↑ National Archives and Records Administration. "Prologue: Pieces of History". archives.gov. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  12. ↑ http://www.stjohnssav.org/green_meldrim/history/
  13. ↑ Polk’s Savannah City Directories
  14. ↑ "Green Meldrim House". St. John's Church Savannah GA. Retrieved 14 April 2015.

External links

Media related to Green-Meldrim House at Wikimedia Commons