By now you know the drill. The big monument in Wright Square, Oglethorpe’s second square, has nothing to do with James Wright, royal governor of Georgia before the Revolution, for whom it’s named. Instead the monument honors William Gordon, former mayor and founder of the Central of Georgia Railroad, which upon completion of the Savannah–Macon run was the longest railroad in the world.

Gordon is in fact the only native Savannahian honored in a city square.

But more importantly, Wright Square is the final resting place for the great Yamacraw chief Tomochichi, buried in 1737 in an elaborate state funeral at James Oglethorpe’s insistence. A huge boulder of north Georgia granite honoring the chief was placed in a corner of the square in 1899 under the auspices of William Gordon’s daughter-in-law.

However, Tomochichi is not buried under the boulder, but rather somewhere underneath the Gordon monument. So why not rename it Tomochichi Square? Old ways die hard down here, my friend.

On the west side of the square is the Federal Courthouse and Post Office, built in 1898 out of Georgia marble. The building’s stately facade makes an appearance in several films, including the original Cape Fear and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

Across the square stands another Preston design, the Old Chatham County Courthouse, no longer an active judicial facility but still known as “the old courthouse.” Note the yellow brick construction, quite rare for this area.

Next to the old courthouse is the historic Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Ascension (120 Bull St., 912/232-4151, www.elcota.org), built in the 1870s for a congregation that traced its roots to some of the first Austrian Salzburgers to come to Savannah in 1734. While most moved to adjacent Effingham County, many stayed and thrived in town, where they were universally well-regarded for their work ethic and honest dealings.