Hanover Park in Early Years

Brief History of Hanover Square

Originally laid out in 1771 by George McIntosh at the request of the Royal Governor of Georgia, the city plan of Brunswick was an evolution of General James Oglethorpe’s famous "Savannah Plan". The first actively used of the six major squares of Brunswick is Hanover Square. The Square has long been a focal point for the social and communal life of the city. As the city grew and contracted from 1771 to 1825, Hanover Square was little more than a designation on the city map. In 1796 the county seat was moved from Ft. Frederica to Brunswick. Elections were held at Hog Crawl Creek off Hwy 17. Urbanus Dart and William Davis petitioned the state in 1825 to reconstruct the city. Thus, a lottery was held in Savannah to raise money. In 1825 a county courthouse, jail, and Masonic Temple were constructed as one building in the center of the Square. Over the next 30 years, the building fell into disrepair as the city was abandoned. As the city gained its third and final charter in 1856, Hanover Square became once again the main public square and gathering place for city residents. The courthouse/Masonic Lodge/jail was renovated and continued to be the centerpiece of the square. By 1870, the sidewalks and surrounding streets were cleared for use thereby creating a recognizable physical shape for Hanover Square.

Beginning in 1878 the citizens of Brunswick pressured the commissioners to remove the courthouse from Hanover and relocate it to Queens Square, a move of 2 blocks northwest along Newcastle Street. Included in this pressure was the Ladies Park Association. This group of ladies actively spoke out in favor of and began fundraising for the beautification of the square once the courthouse was moved. In 1882 the city commission agreed to move the building and by the end of February 1882, the wooden building had been moved. Soon thereafter, sidewalks and fencing were installed in the Square. In the center of the Square an artesian well was installed by the end of 1884. Later that year, the state chemist determined that the water from the well had properties that contributed to the healing of certain classes of diseases. An ornate fountain was installed at the well for the use by the public. Trips to the fountain by visitors and tourists to "partake of the healing waters" became a regular occurrence. Along with the fountain, a bandstand was erected in the south end of the Square. From the mid-1880s to the mid-1910s, various concert bands held summer and fall musical concerts in the Square.

Other concerned citizen groups worked with the city to continue the upkeep and maintenance on the Square. A threat by the Committee on Electric Trains in 1901 to install electric street car service through the square created a public outcry. After much debate, a city ordinance was passed preventing bisection of Hanover Square by any railways. Electric light was installed in the square in January of 1912. In 1949 the city commission approved a resolution calling for the routing of Alternate Highway 17 through Hanover Square and the removal of the fencing. The three year public outcry created by this resolution was enormous. The garden clubs of Brunswick (Cherokee Garden Club among them) staged sit-ins to prevent the destruction of the Square. In October of 1952, the city commission finally reversed their resolution for bisecting the Square with Highway 17.

From 1952 to present day, the continued preservation efforts of previous citizen groups and individuals have saved Hanover Square from oblivion Since 2000, a group of local preservations have worked with the city to slowly restore the fencing that was removed in the Highway 17 stand-off in 1949. In 2004, Signatures Squares of Brunswick was incorporated to actively restore Hanover Square to prominence and restore all the original squares of Brunswick to their rightful place in the city’s social and community life.