See why Savannah prizes this stunning building, one of the best examples of English Regency architecture in the United States and now housing an exquisite decorative arts collection.
Owens-Thomas House is a National Historic Landmark in downtown Savannah. The stunning English Regency-style house is one of three Telfair Museums sites and features a collection of decorative arts dating to the mid-18th century. Learn how this property once belonged to one of Savannah’s mayors.
This historic museum features a striking columned entrance portico, a winding double stairway and a cast iron balcony. Intricate, arched second-story windows look over Oglethorpe Square. Owens-Thomas House was designed by renowned English architect William Jay and built in the early 19th century.
In 1830, lawyer, congressman and one-time mayor of Savannah, George Welshman Owens, purchased the property. The house stayed in the Owens family until the mid-20th century before it was bequeathed to the Telfair Museum of Art. See many of the Owens family’s furnishings in the collection of decorative arts. The collection also includes rare European and American items from the 18th and 19th centuries.
Get a different perspective of Owens-Thomas House from across the road in pretty Oglethorpe Square, one of Savannah’s six original mid-18th century colonial squares. Wander along the square’s brick walkways, relax in the shaded grassy areas or enjoy a picnic lunch after your visit to Owens-Thomas House.
If you feel like ordering lunch, take a short walk from Owens-Thomas House to Forsyth Park, where there is a café, sporting areas and a stunning fountain.
Also a short walk from Owens-Thomas House is Colonial Park Cemetery. Discover the burial sites of famous Savannah citizens, including political leader and a Declaration of Independence signer Button Gwinnett. This beautiful cemetery features wrought iron fences and thousands of historic headstones.
If driving to Owens-Thomas House, use the metered parking around Oglethorpe Square. You need to buy a pass to enter the house. Purchase a triple-site pass and visit all Telfair Museums locations, including the Jepson Center for the Arts. Single site passes are also available.
Visit the Owens-Thomas House to learn about 19th- and 20th-century Savannah history.
