Support for the Squares Takes Root

In 1771, The Council of the Royal Colony of Georgia laid out the city of Brunswick utilizing the Oglethorpe Plan. This design, named after the colony’s founder, General James Oglethorpe, featured 14 large and small squares spaced evenly among residential and commercial land lots. These park-like areas were to be deeded to the people of the city in perpetuity, never to be sold or developed. Over the past 250 years, a number of the squares of Brunswick have been sold, encroached upon or developed for civic or private purposes. Many of the squares are still in use today as community gathering spots or parks. Yet others wait for the day when their true potential can be realized.

In 2005, a group of Old Town Brunswick homeowners began a mission to reclaim and beautify the district’s original colonial parks and squares in keeping with the intent of the city’s founders. Led by Julie Hunter Martin and LuAnn Whalen, Signature Squares of Brunswick, Inc., a non-profit preservation organization, was formed and soon grew in strength and numbers. Following plans drawn by founding member landscape architect Jerry Spencer, the organization began taking steps to transform neglected and underutilized spaces into garden spots for the city. Work commenced in early 2006 with the replacement of the broken fountain in Hanover Square, repair of walkways, and replanting the garden areas.

Today, Signature Squares of Brunswick remains a 501(c)(3) organization funded completely by grants and donations. It has no paid staff, and operates on 100% volunteer participation. Revitalization project funding is supplied by generous contributions from citizens, local businesses, garden clubs, and foundations; grants, strategic partnerships and in-kind services. 100% of all donations go toward restoration projects. Each renovation project involves a partner relationship with the City of Brunswick. Signature Squares’ work continues along the business corridor, as well as in residential park areas, and its mission has grown to include educating the public about the history of our city. They are dedicated to bringing the story of our modern colonial city to life by restoring its historic public green spaces in an environmentally responsible manner and sharing its rich legacy. The fruits of the volunteers’ labor is enjoyed by downtown visitors, shoppers, residents, and businesses.

“The squares are an important asset to downtown Brunswick,” says Susan Bates, owner of Tipsy McSway’s Neighborhood Bar & Grill. “They are the hubs of the monthly First Friday events and are regularly used as community gathering places. We see it daily outside our windows.”

Each of Brunswick’s 14 original squares in the Old Town Historic District has a story to tell, and every story plays an important part of the city’s narrative. Government offices and commercial businesses bordering squares in the downtown corridor shaped the cultural and economic destiny of our port city. Homes around the residential squares tell the stories of the people who built the city and raised their families here. Intensive research into the architectural, horticultural and cultural heritage of the space precedes the preservation of each square. The relevance of each structure, past and present, and location of the square are all taken into consideration before any bench, brick, or shrub is installed. While many of the original squares have been fully restored, several still are in need of attention.

We’re touching on the history and renovation of some of the Brunswick squares here to give you an idea of the legacy Signature Squares seeks to preserve. To delve deeper, we encourage you to visit signaturesquares.org.

When the city of Brunswick was chartered and plans for its streets and squares were formalized, the colony of Georgia was already 39 years old, and ties with Britain were still strong. This is reflected in many of the names, such as King and Queen Squares, named to honor Britain’s Royal rulers. These two squares were designed in four quadrants. Queen Square, home to one of the city’s most recognizable landmarks, Historic City Hall, is the only true square in Brunswick located within the downtown commercial district. Other smaller, so-called “pocket parks,” such as Jekyll and Machen Squares, were originally named “Place” and were not considered true squares until the names changed on city maps in the 1930s.

Hanover Square was named for the house of Hanover, from which England’s rulers at that time, namely George III, descended. It is one of only two large squares in Old Town Brunswick that retains its original size and shape. Initially, Hanover Square was the hub of official city and county business. The county courthouse, jail and stockyards were located in the square until the late 19th century, when Brunswick citizens began to feel that the muddy, trampled stockyard and shabby wooden buildings did not properly represent their up-and-coming city. In 1882, the Ladies Park Association campaigned for the removal of the courthouse from the square and raised funds to purchase materials to beautify what they referred to as “Hanover Park.”

The city drilled a deep artesian well in the square and topped it with an ornate fountain. This new fountain provided clean drinking water for local citizens and created a tourist attraction for the times. In the late 19th-century, there was a popular practice for the health-conscious of “taking the waters.” This brought many people to Brunswick to drink the fountain’s therapeutic natural mineral water. In later years, the fountain fell into disrepair and several pieces were missing when Signature Squares of Brunswick took on its inaugural restoration project. The entire assembly was removed down to the ground, and a replacement in a classic Tall Crane design, chosen to most closely reflect the original 1884 fountain, was installed. The base bowl of the old fountain was saved and repurposed as the basin of the new Jekyll Square West fountain.

Wright Square was named for Sir James Wright, the last colonial Governor of Georgia. Wright was known as a fair and well-respected administrator and held his office from 1760 until the end of the Revolutionary War. In 1952, Glynn County Middle School was built on the northern half of Wright Square. In 2009, a modern middle school was built to replace it in a different location. Three years later, a land swap between the City of Brunswick and the Board of Education for the northern half of Wright Square was finalized, providing the city the opportunity to re-connect the two halves of Wright Square into a fully intact 4-acre historic square with the removal of George Street. After the demolition of the school, the site was painstakingly excavated by archaeologist William Weeks, who had for years researched the possibility that a settlers’ burial ground might have been beneath the square. Thirty-seven colonial grave sites were discovered although identities were lost with the passage of time and progress. The graves were recorded but left undisturbed and respectfully covered again by native soil. The first citizens of the city are now honored with a monument in the square.

The origin of the name of Machen Place (now Square) isn’t as clear as others, and this northernmost square in Old Town wasn’t even included on the 1826 official map of the city. But during Brunswick’s period of growth and prosperity in the late 19th century , landmark structures were built adjacent to or near Machen Square and the space assumed its rightful status as an important part of the Newcastle Street downtown corridor. It once held a magnificent three-story National Bank of Brunswick building, designed in the same Richardson-Romanesque revival style as Historic City Hall. The Victorian masterpiece known as the Oglethorpe Hotel was completed in 1888 on the adjoining block. Also built nearby was the Grand Opera House. Sadly, all that remains of these structures are a substantially transformed Ritz Theatre and a walkway at the entrance to Machen Square West of engraved pink and white Italian marble tiles preserved from the Oglethorpe Hotel.

Signature Squares now invites you to get in touch with the city’s roots through the Square Roots program. Square Roots is a newly developed community partnership dedicated to the preservation, restoration and broadened awareness of Brunswick’s public green spaces. Square Roots member businesses create a funding resource that helps bring the story of our modern colonial city to life and to maintain the design intended by its founders in 1771: to promote health and wellbeing through unrestricted access to common green spaces. Restoring the historic squares set aside for public good by our colonial founders keeps our treasured cultural and environmental heritage intact. When we preserve the squares, we protect the quality of life that results from daily contact with nature. The squares are ideal for walking, strolling with children, visiting with a friend, bird watching, reading a book or simply relaxing. They belong to all of us, and all are welcome. Use for larger public or private events can be reserved through the City of Brunswick.

There are three ways in which businesses can participate in the Square Roots initiative: 1.) By collecting a 1% voluntary donation on every customer sale. Lodging partners collect $1 per night. 2.) Businesses can donate 1% of their proceeds (or any set amount) to the program. 3.) Service providers can donate in-kind or discounted services to Signature Squares. Participating businesses send their collected donations to Signature Squares of Brunswick monthly. The donations are used to fund the ongoing preservation and restoration of the city’s historic squares. Projects include research, designing landscapes, sourcing historically accurate plant material, and installing infrastructure like irrigation systems and lighting. Educational signs explaining the history and importance of each square are also planned for each completed project.

Square Roots partners represent the hospitality, culinary, retail, manufacturing, media, service and professional industries that are the lifeblood of our business community. Founding partners are: 1608 Liberty Lofts, 365 Degree Total Marketing, Brunswick Landing Marina, The Market on Newcastle, MSTiller, LLC, On the Fly Outfitters, Port City Partners, Premiere Printing, The Rose & Vine, Southeastern Photography, Tipsy McSway’s Neighborhood Bar & Grill, The Village Oven, and The Wick. Other nonprofit organizations and foundations are valued members of the partnership as well. Any business or organization of any size is invited to join. Business’ names are listed on educational signage at newly restored Squares and their logos will be included on the Square Roots website.

“By participating in Square Roots, we further a sense of community as we enjoy the benefits of coming together to define our city’s identity and character,” says Signature Squares founder Julie Martin.

All proceeds go directly toward the mission to educate, preserve and share our heritage in an environmentally responsible, historically accurate manner. This gift is shared with citizens and visitors alike, for today, and for future generations. Look for Square Roots decals in the windows of participating businesses starting in June to discover where to donate or visit signaturesquares.org.