Savannah, Georgia

Without a doubt, my favorite city on the east coast is Savannah, Georgia. There is nothing quite like stumbling along the uneven pathways which line the historic district, the aroma of fried green tomatoes thick in the air, the hand that isn’t clutching a cold cocktail desperately reaches for the railing of one of the menacingly plunging stone staircases which lead you to River Street… 

Alright, perhaps that wasn’t the best introduction to get you to appreciate why I love Savannah so much. The truth is, Savannah is a city populated with southern hospitality and densely packed with colorful history. The city is sprinkled with manicured town squares, each around a square block in size and all uniquely ornamented with monuments to recognize important figures in the settlement of Georgia. These squares pump vitality into the city, allowing you to escape the heat radiating from the pavement on a hot summer day and retreat under a canopy of hundred-year-old oak trees with their accompanying silver drapes of Spanish moss. If you know where to look, you can even bring your own box of chocolates to Chippewa Square and sit at the same spot where Forrest Gump told his story to wanderers like yourself. 

During our latest trip to the city, Drew and I laced up our walking shoes with the plan to visit all 22 squares in the historic district. With the southern humidity creating a very frizzy-haired Charlie in tow, we set out on a weaving path meant to guide us from the northeastern corner of Savannah’s Emmet Park, and land us at the southern tip of Forsyth Park. Along the way, heads crammed with newly learned facts about Savannah’s colonization, we fell upon Wright Square, a square so subtly different from the rest that neither of us could put our finger on its unique attribute. The towering presence of the central Gordon Monument demands your attention here, recognizing William Washington Gordon who brought wealth and prosperity to Savannah through his creation of the Central Railroad and Banking Company. I would argue that more interestingly, however, is the smaller monument located along the southeast corner of the square in recognition of Tomochici, the Chief of the Yamacraw Tribe who offered partnership and support to the British settlers in the 1700s. He ensured peaceful cooperation between his tribe members and the foreign newcomers during this time of colonization. 

I stared at the arrowheads which proudly spiral around the bronze inscription of Tomochichi’s name, trying to remember the last time I had stumbled upon a monument meant to memorialize the contributions of a Native American. My eyesight bounced between the contrasting monuments, noticing how Gordon’s monument quite literally casts a shadow over Tomochichi’s, ultimately leaving the square with a sense of unrest.

The ghosts of Wright Square

It wasn’t until a few nights later, when Drew and I took a midnight tour with Ghost City Tours, that we had this disturbance explained to us. Following on the heels of our guide, we walked over the buckled sidewalks outside of Colonial Park Cemetery where we learned the unmarked graves beneath the surface had caused an uneven settling of the pavement. We were led onto the ground of Wright Square once again, the cover of night not enough to disguise its distinct appearance, and we listened to the tales of what is perhaps the most haunted square in Savannah. Being one of the oldest squares in the city, we learned that Tomochichi’s marked burial site used to stand proudly at the center of the square before it was unceremoniously destroyed to make room for the Gordon Monument in 1883. The process unearthed the buried remains of Tomochichi himself, which were then scattered under the freshly manicured garden beds of the square. In 1899, horrified due to the gross mishandling of the situation, Gordon’s daughter-in-law, Nellie Gordon, led the charge to create the permanent memorialization to the Yamacraw Chief in the square. Legend states that if you walk around the perimeter of the square three times, and say the name of Tomochichi, he just may respond back to you. 

I am not ashamed to admit that I was not brave enough to try it.

Our guide then told us a second tale of Wright Square, where Alice Riley, along with her common-law husband, Richard White, arrived in Savannah in the 1730s to work as Irish servants to an oppressive cattle farmer named William Wise. Wise was unpopular with the residents of Savannah, engaging in inappropriate behavior, and whose stories of abuse towards his servants circulated throughout the city. After years of their service to him, Wise’s body was found dead, head submerged in a pail of water, with Riley and White nowhere to be seen. Wise was declared Savannah’s first murder victim, and both Riley and White were soon found in hiding 10 miles south of Savannah at the Isle of Hope. 

It is speculated that the rampant anti-Irish sentiment of the time encouraged a guilty verdict upon them, even after discovering that Wise’s abuse had led to Riley becoming pregnant with his child. Riley was sentenced to imprisonment until her child was born, a boy named James, and then hanged in the center of Wright Square. Because “Spanish moss cannot grow where innocent blood has been spilt”, many locals believe that these tragedies are the reason why Wright Square remains the only square in Savannah where Spanish moss cannot be found….or so claimed my tour guide. I craned my neck to look towards the stars, the silver glimmer of mossy chains which caught the moonlight in every other square was noticeably absent from my view. Thus, the cause of my immediate suspicion for the square was suddenly explained.

The science of Spanish moss

I know some will laugh at me for this, and Drew certainly does enough of it for all of you, but I absolutely believe in ghosts. Whether you call them ghosts, spirits, souls, or phantoms, some phenomenon in this world can only be explained by some supernatural force. However, the absence of Spanish moss in Wright Square stuck in my mind for months after this visit. It reminded me of the principles of Occam’s Razor which states that entities should not be multiplied without necessity, often oversimplified to mean “the simplest explanation is usually the right one”. So, the question must then be posed as to if there is a simpler solution to why Spanish moss avoids Wright Square. Let’s take a walk, and think this one through.

What IS Spanish moss?

Spanish moss is no stranger to the coastal south where it is commonly found hanging along tree limbs in areas of warm temperatures and high humidity. Its name leads many to believe that it is an invasive species from Spain, but is actually native to the range from Virginia to Mexico, historically being traced back to areas of Central and South America as well. The name “Spanish moss” was created by French explorers when the trailing tendrils of the Spanish moss reminded them of the long beards often seen on Spanish conquistadors. Originally, Native American’s told the French that its name was itla-okla, meaning “tree hair”, but for better or for worse, it was the name Spanish moss which seems to have stuck. 

To add to this misnomer fun, it’s also worth noting that Spanish moss isn’t actually a moss at all. Where mosses are reproduced by spores and are non-vascular, Spanish moss propagates through seeds and through the production of small clonal copies called pups. It is more accurate to refer to Spanish moss as a bromeliad, a family of plants that also includes pineapples. (While we’re at it, pineapples aren’t actually in the pine family, and are technically considered berries rather than apples, so, you know, the English language is a blast.)

What does Spanish moss need to survive?

As previously mentioned, Spanish moss was probably not the most appropriate name for this ornamental plant. The fact that it is a bromeliad means that it is a vascular plant capable of completing photosynthesis and thereby producing its own glucose without the help of the trees which it clings to. More specifically, Spanish moss is known as an epiphyte, or “air plant”, meaning it absorbs all of its nutrients and water directly through the air, explaining why high humidity is a requirement for its survival. Rest assured, Spanish moss is not a parasite, and doesn’t actually hurt the trees which it hangs from. Rather, it uses the limbs of trees as a stable place to grow, capturing the sunlight which is more accessible on high branches. It does seem to prefer both bald cypress and live oaks due to their strong limbs and long life spans which allows the Spanish moss to accumulate as large hanging chains over time. These trees also perform a high degree of mineral leaching through their leaves, making the branches alongside these leaves dense with vital nutrients such as calcium, potassium and magnesium. Although these tree species certainly provide benefits for Spanish moss survival and growth, the self-sustained nature of the epiphyte means it can occasionally be seen growing on the sides of man-made structures as well. 

So, Spanish moss would presumably thrive in an area with high temperatures and humidity, lots of live oak trees, and ample amounts of sunlight, all noticeable attributes of Wright Square. However, just because something is capable of living in an environment, doesn’t mean there aren’t other limiting factors which may cause it to be absent. Perhaps something could be killing the Spanish moss in the square before it has time to accumulate.

Does Spanish moss have any natural enemies?

Is it possible that something is eating all the Spanish moss in Wright Square? Before you go grabbing a handful of Spanish moss to mix into a salad, let me first point out that Spanish moss is not edible for humans. Livestock seem to be able to stomach the plant without difficulty and there are some reports that both goats and deer will sometimes go in search of it. However, I have yet to find a goat that would be able to reach the high limbs of an oak tree. There is also the matter that Savannah shockingly lacks an ample supply of livestock freely wandering around the streets of Savannah. 

Alternatively, while they don’t eat it, Spanish moss is a popular nesting material for birds who grab beakfulls of the soft material to use as lining for their nests. While it would theoretically be possible that an overpopulation of birds could carry all of the Spanish moss away from Wright Square, a geographically targeted behavior such as this from an entire population of birds seems...improbable. 

Although Spanish moss doesn’t seem to act as an important food source, it does serve as a vital habitat space for small animals. Bats can be seen clinging to it in rest during the day, with butterflies taking their place during the evening. Once a section of the Spanish moss has fallen to the ground, it becomes a useful source of protection for small species of frogs, snakes and lizards. All this to say, that while these are all interesting interspecies interactions, none of them could explain the absence of moss in Wright Square.

How does Spanish moss disperse?

Therein lies the rub. In order for a living species to be found in an area, it has to actually be able to get there. Obvious, I know. Spanish moss seeds are extremely lightweight and equipped with long leaf-like appendages meant to catch the air, allowing the seeds to ride on the wind. Wind dispersed plants such Spanish moss are reliant upon the patterns of the wind, and similarly limited when this wind does not reach certain areas. 

As fun as it is to imagine Wright Square as the only square in Savannah which is void of Spanish moss, the truth is that this isn’t the case. In fact, Johnson Square, which is located just north of Wright Square, similarly lacks the presence of Spanish moss and it too holds its own unique ghost story to explain this absence. While walking around Savannah, you may actually notice that the squares clustered around the northwest corner of the historic district all have either very low quantities, or completely lack the chains of this picturesque bromeliad. The reason for this is that the tall buildings of Bay Street are able to block the wind patterns from carrying these seeds to these specific squares, keeping the live oak trees in the square free from these epiphyte chains. 

Discover it for yourself

No matter the reason for its presence, rows of giant live oaks all draped generously with Spanish moss is certainly an iconic background for the city of Savannah. There is no better way to see this scene and to learn about the history of Savannah than to take a self-guided walk through the squares of the historic district. If you ever find yourself in the city of southern hospitality, I would highly recommend you set aside an entire day to walk through the squares. Just make sure you pack a pair of comfortable walking shoes, lots of water, and if you are so inclined, an ice cold bevvy, because when in Savannah you should do as the Savannians do. Of course, when you make it to Wright Square, make sure to pay your respects to Tomochichi, take in the energy of the square, and then decide for yourself if you think any wandering spirits are responsible for its lack of Spanish moss. After all, who's to say that ghosts don’t have any control over the wind?

Thank you for joining us at Discovery Detour, where the destination is always unknown.