Landscape Information
This 30-acre park is located within the Savannah Historic District. The northern portion of the park was set aside during the 1840s on of land donated by Savannah scholar William Hodgson, and was later named for John Forsyth, the 33rd Governor of Georgia, in 1851 after he donated the additional twenty acres. The park was designed by Bavarian landscape gardener William Bischoff, with modifications by architect and city surveyor John Hogg. The formal design drew inspiration from the urban renewal efforts underway in Paris at the time. Notable alterations include the addition of a cast iron fountain in 1858 (modeled after the fountain at the Place de la Concorde in Paris), and the Confederate War Monument, designed by Canadian sculptor Robert Reid, at the center of the park in 1879. A bronze soldier by Welsh-born sculptor David Richards, donated by local landowner and historian George DeRenne, was placed at the top of the monument.
The perimeter of the rectangular park is lined with live oaks. A square portion at its northern end is heavily planted with canopy trees, especially live oaks and azaleas. The fountain is located at its center, with paths radiating outward. Just south of this section are two playgrounds, a café, a half-shell theater, and the Fragrant Garden for the Blind, designed by landscape architect Georges Bignault in 1963 for the Trustees’ Garden Club of Savannah. The oaks extend along a linear path through the center of the park to its southern edge, wrapping around the Confederate War Monument at its midpoint. On either side of the central path are former military parade grounds that are now used for recreational purposes. A Spanish-American War monument, tennis and basketball courts, and a parking area are located along the southern boundary of the park.
