Named for Revolutionary War hero Nathanael Greene, but bearing no monument to him whatsoever, Greene Square is of particular importance to local African American history.
At the corner of Houston (pronounced “House-ton”) and East State Streets is the 1810 Cunningham House, built for Henry Cunningham, former slave and founding pastor of the Second African Baptist Church (124 Houston St., 912/233-6163) on the west side of the square, in which General Sherman made his famous promise of “40 acres and a mule.”
In 1818, the residence at 542 East State St. was constructed for free blacks Charlotte and William Wall.
The property at 513 East York St. was built for the estate of Catherine DeVeaux, part of a prominent African American family.