Constructed between 1835 and 1840 by Charles Cluskey, this Savannah historic landmark and museum is considered to be one of the finest examples of Greek Revival and Regency architecture in the area. The Sorrel-Weed House was constructed for Francis Sorrel, who was a prominent commission merchant to the West Indies. Many well known people have visited the home, including General Robert E. Lee, who was a long standing friend of Francis Sorrel.
The Sorrel-Weed House also served as the boyhood home for Brigadier General Moxley Sorrel, who fought for the Confederate States of America during the Civil War under General James Longstreet. After proving himself to be a hero at the Battle of the Wilderness in May 1864, Moxley Sorrel was promoted to Brigadier General. He was just 26-years-old at the time which made him the youngest general in the Confederate Army. Later in his life, Moxley Sorrel wrote Recollections of a Confederate Staff Officer, which is considered one of the best postwar accounts written by a former Confederate Officer.
In recent years, the Sorrel-Weed House provided the high vantage point seen in the opening scenes of Forrest Gump. The movie opens with a floating feather that sails through the Savannah skyline, showing many of the homes in Madison Square from the Sorrel-Weed rooftop, before coming to rest at the feet of Forrest Gump on a bench in Chippewa Square. The Sorrel-Weed House has also been featured on HGTV’s “If Walls Could Talk” as well as “Ghost Adventures”. In the “Ghost Adventures” episode, Zach Bagans, Jason Hawes, and Grant Wilson described the Sorrel-Weed House as being one of the most haunted locations they had ever investigated.
Also on Madison Square, you will find several businesses and other historic places. Caddy-corner to the Sorrel-Weed House is the Green Meldrim House, built by architect John Norris between 1853 and 1861. It is a beautiful Gothic Revival style home that served as Sherman’s Headquarters in Savannah until the end of the Civil War. Today, it is used as the rectory for the St. John’s Episcopal Church next door.
Nearby St. John’s Episcopal are two SCAD buildings. One, located in the 1926 Scottish Rite building, is Gryphon Tea Room. Gryphon boasts a café menu with seasonal and local offerings. Across the street is the Shop SCAD store, which features student, alumni, and faculty artwork and goods for purchase – all inside the old Savannah Volunteer Guards Armory built in 1893 by William Preston.
In addition, close by is E. Shaver’s Bookstore, as well as Electric Bikes of Savannah, Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room, The Hilton DeSoto Hotel, The Public Kitchen and Bar, Soho South Café, and Mellow Mushroom Pizza Bakers.