Forsyth Park is a large city park that occupies in the historic district of Savannah, Georgia. The park is bordered by Gaston Street on the North, Drayton Street on the East, Park Avenue on the South and Whitaker Street on the West. It contains walking paths, a children's play area, a Fragrant Garden for the blind, a large fountain, tennis courts, basketball courts, areas for soccer and Frisbee, and home field for Savannah Shamrocks Rugby Club. From time to time, there are concerts held at Forsyth to the benefit of the public.
Development
The park was originally created in the 1840s on of land donated by William Hodgson. In 1851, the park was expanded and named for Georgia GovernorJohn Forsyth. By 1853, all original planned wards of Savannah were occupied and a large public park was added to the extreme south end of the city plan. This park was anticipated by General James Oglethorpe's plan and was made possible by a donation of of land owned by Forsyth.
The Confederate Monument
Built in 1874, Forsyth Park hosts a large monument to Confederate dead. One of the first and largest in the state, the monument was unveiled in 1874, with the bronze statue of a Confederate soldier added several years later in 1879.
Standing at the south end of Forsyth Park, The Hiker is a statue created by Theo Alice Ruggles Kitson. It commemorates the American soldiers who fought in the Spanish–American War, the Boxer Rebellion and the Philippine-American War. The first version of it was made for the University of Minnesota in 1906, The Hiker depicts a hero stripped of his parade uniform and shown as a soldier reacting to the challenges of the battlefield. Officially called "The Georgia Volunteer," it was erected in Savannah because that city contributed more Spanish–American War soldiers per capita than any other city in Georgia. Bonaventure Cemetery just outside of Savannah on a bluff of the Wilmington River has a section dedicated to the Spanish-American War Veterans from Worth Bagley Camp. It is the nation's second-largest area dedicated to those killed in the Spanish-American War.
Fountain
The fountain at the north end of the park was added in 1858 and is reminiscent of fountains in the Place de la Concorde in Paris and in Cuzco, Peru. At this time, Parisian urban planning was centered on the development of residential neighborhoods radiating out from a central green space. The Parisian model of developing large city parks was emulated by large cities in the United States, with even smaller cities, such as Savannah, asserting their own cosmopolitan image. An identical fountain is located in Madison, Indiana. Every St. Patrick's Daythe fountain is ceremoniously turned green in celebration of Savannah's deep Irish heritage. The fountain and many other aspects of Savannah are clearly visible in The Longest Yard and the 1962 film Cape Fear.
