Vernon Square-Columbus Square Historic District

Vernon Square and Columbus Square are the two best-preserved wards of Darien, Georgia, a coastal town on a sandy bluff above the river. Each ward centers on a square flanked by trust lots and is laid out on wide streets, some still unpaved sand. The plan dates to a 1805 survey by Thomas McCall that traced its lineage to Oglethorpe's design for Savannah. Most buildings are wood-frame houses and churches built between the mid-19th and early 20th centuries, from shotgun and double-pen cottages to two-story homes in Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, Colonial Revival and Craftsman modes, adapted by local builders. A tabby church shows a traditional coastal material. Live oaks, shrubs and lawns give the squares an informal character. The area housed white timber brokers and mill workers alongside a notable black middle class, including a pharmacist, teacher, minister and political officeholders, during Darien's timber boom. These qualities of planning, architecture, landscape and local history supported its listing in 1985.