#143: The Eliza Ann Jewett House on Madison Square

"For me, Savannah's resistance to change was its saving grace. The city looked inward, sealed off from the noises and distractions of the world at large. It grew inward, too, and in such a way that its people flourished like hothouse plants tended by an indulgent gardener. The ordinary became extraordinary. Eccentrics thrived. Every nuance and quirk of personality achieved greater brilliance in that lush enclosure than would have been possible anywhere else in the world."

—John Berendt, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: A Savannah Story

The Eliza Ann Jewett House on Madison Square

Located at 326 Bull Street overlooking gorgeous Madison Square, the Eliza Ann Jewett House, painted en Plein air on a late October afternoon, was built in 1842. Eliza Jewett was among the more prominent women property owners and developers in the Savannah Historic District during the Antebellum Era.

Born in 1779 in North Carolina, Eliza married James Discombe in 1808, with whom she had four children. When her first husband died in 1815, she remarried two years later to Jasper Jewett, with whom she had two additional children. Jasper died only two only later.

Unlike her contemporary among female property developers in Savannah, Mary Magdalene Marshall (see PFS-125), Eliza Jewett had not inherited great wealth from her parents or two husbands. As a result, she carried a much lower profile within Savannahian social circles during her lifetime.

In many respects, Eliza Jewett was a later bloomer as an entrepreneur. After she crossed 70 years of age, Jewett constructed several homes on Jones Street that were among the best in her portfolio. Eliza died in 1856 at age 77. Her funeral was held right here at her Bull Street home.

The charming E. Shaver, bookseller, Savannah's oldest independent bookstore, has been connected to this fabulous house since the mid-1970s. The trendy local bookstore was named Southern Living Magazine's 'Best Bookstore in the South' in 2020. Indeed, it is a fabulous place to pick up John Berendt's 1994 book that redefined Savannah for the New South.

Madison Square is among everyone's favorites in the Historic District, and I've painted many nearby scenes. Centering the Square is the monument to local Revolutionary War hero William Jasper who was mortally wounded while saving his unit's colors during the Battle of Savannah in 1779 (see PFS-59).

The Georgia Hussars Armory en Plein air is here (see PFS-122), nearby the Savannah Volunteer Guards Armory (see PFS-14), which housed the beginnings of the Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD).

The Sorrel-Weed House (see PFS-18) is just off Madison Square, as is the beautiful Green-Meldrim Mansion (see PFS-61). And additionally, I enjoyed painting St. John's Church (see PFS-62).

Still, I firmly believe the most beautiful structure on Madison Square is the Scottish Rite Masonic Temple (see PFS-15), now owned by SCAD. I've wanted to get back and paint a large version of this magnificent building. I'll get to it someday.

Frankly, I could camp out in Madison Square for an entire month and easily find something unique and beautiful to paint every single day.

So much American history has passed through this wonderful Savannah Square. I remember the information I memorized about President James Madison. During my Naturalization test to become a US citizen in 2006, I needed to know the name of the former President considered the 'Father of the Constitution.' The correct answer, of course, was the man this Square honors.