Trustees’ Garden Club and Savannah’s Forsyth Park

May 14, 2019

Planning for the Future

Forsyth Park has been described as the “crown jewel” of Savannah, GA, and Trustees’ Garden Club is committed to ensuring its future by developing a stewardship plan to protect the iconic spaces and historic integrity of the park while also meeting the demands of modern life. The goals of the project are to partner with the City of Savannah to develop a master plan and to pursue designation of the park as a National Historic Landmark (NHL). CLICK HERE to view news coverage by WTOC, a Savannah CBS affiliate.

Trustees' Garden Club, founded in 1926, has a long history of undertaking significant community improvement projects. Several years ago, the club launched a multi-year legacy project to create a stewardship plan for Savannah’s historic Forsyth Park as a gift to the city. Established in 1841, Forsyth Park is one of the oldest municipal parks in the United States. The park is a priceless asset to the city, but along with growth in population and tourism has come an increase in park usage. The park was also the victim of recent hurricanes and beneficiary of a GCA Restoration grant in 2018.

In March 2019, the club entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the City of Savannah specifying that the club will fully underwrite the cost of the master plan which will in turn be adopted by the city. Research documentation to support the planning process and nomination of the park as a National Historic Landmark includes a Cultural Landscape Report, which will be the most comprehensive history of the park ever created and “Overarching Values and Guidelines for Treatment of Forsyth Park,” the result of a community workshop held by the club in 2016.

Trustees’ Garden Club’s legacy project will ensure continued enjoyment of this iconic Savannah destination by people from all walks of life for decades to come.

Top photo: Forsyth Park today, Photo by: J. Keyes Williamson.

Second photo: Meb Ryan, Co-Chair of the Forsyth Park Project, speaks with WTOC News.

Third photo: Forsyth Park, Library of Congress circa 1890-1901.

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