Gordonston, A Nice Place to Live

The Gordon's Home

Savannah has some great neighborhoods. One of the first neighborhoods was Gordonston. It was founded in 1917. It was part of the storied Gordon family farm.The Gordon family was one of the most prestigious families in Savannah. William Washington Gordon was elected in 1834 as the mayor of Savannah and served in that position for two years. While serving as mayor he was elected to the Georgia General Assembly as a member of the House of Representatives in 1835. In 1838, he was elected to the Georgia Senate. He also founded and served as the first president of the Central Railroad and Banking Company of Georgia, A memorial was constructed on June 25, 1882 in Wright Square in his honor. To do so they destroyed the grave of Indian Chief Tomochichi. This caused a scandal in Savannah. His son, son’s wife, and granddaughter led in bringing Tomochichi’s granite moument that sits in the corner of Wright Square to somewhat rectify the situation.

Gordon’s son William Washington Gordon II was a Confederate Captain in the American Civil War, later serving as a Brigadier General in the United States Army during the Spanish–American War. He was also the chairman of the Savannah Cotton Exchange and vice-president of the Merchants' National Bank and a founding director of the Georgia Railroad and Banking Company.

Gordon II had a wife named Nellie Kinzie Gordon. She was from one of the founding families of Chicago. She was also prominent in the civic life of Savannah. She became responsible for starting two medical facilities for Spanish American Soldiers during the Spanish American War.

Gordon II and his wife Nellie were the parents of Juliette Low Gordon. Juliette was the founder of the Girl Scouts. This was the family who made Gordonston from their farm land.  In 1917, William Washington Gordon III, along with his three sisters and one brother, inherited an approximately 80-acre tract of land east of downtown Savannah on what is now called Skidaway Road. W. W. Gordon purchased his sibling’s interest in the property and laid out a subdivision named Gordonston.

Gordonston is roughly bounded by Gwinnett Street to the north, Skidaway Road to the south, Goebel Avenue to the west and Pennsylvania Avenue to the east. Gordonston is distinguished by its Beaux-Arts inspired radial plan in which only Henry Avenue joins Savannah's established grid-iron plan of streets The Beaux-Arts radial plan, laid out by J. G. Langdon, is centered on Pierpont Circle, a small, landscaped park that serves as a central traffic. Kinzie and Anderson avenues have planted medians. Kinzie is planted with oak trees; Anderson is planted with Crepe Myrtle.

 One of Savannah’s most prominent architects, Henrik Wallin designed at least one of the homes in Gordonston. Wallin was the architect of the Armstrong House next to Forsyth Park, First Baptist Church, Wallin Hall a SCAD building, to name a few. In Gordonston he designed the Colonial Revival-style house at 411 Gordonston Avenue in 1914.

One of the more significant markers of Gordonston is a landscaped park that was dedicated to the "children of Gordonston" by Juliette Low in 1926. the cornerstone was laid for the gates of Gordonston Memorial Park, and the park was dedicated to Willie and Nellie.
 
In the cornerstone Daisy [Juliette Gordon Low] placed the tools she had used in making the gates, and the stone pillars in which the gates are set have a daisy carved on each column. The park, which was also called Brownie Park and Gordon Memorial Park, was rededicated in the name of Juliette Gordon Low in 1940. Enclosed by an iron fence, the park contains a city well and a cabin built in the late 1940s for Girl Scout troop meetings. Oak and magnolia trees are found throughout the naturally landscaped park, with an understory of dogwoods, camellias, and azaleas. A trust established by the Low family provides funds for the maintenance of the park.

The home of William Washington Gordon III at 2 Pierpont Circle is on the register of the National Historic Homes. This neighborhood is known as one of Savannah’s best even to this day. The Gordons all lived prominent lives but one of the lasting vestiges of their time here is this neighborhood.

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A home in Gordonston

Joggers running pass the gate to Gordonston Park

Original layout of Gordonston