The Congrégation de Saint Jean-Baptiste was established as Savannah's first parish, at the end of the 18th century, by French immigrants, who went to Savannah after an uprising in Haiti, and many of whom were French nobles fleeing the French Revolution. On May 30, 1800, the first church building was built on a plot on Liberty Square given to the congregation by the city a year earlier. By 1804, the church was petitioning for more room; but the city could not grant it, because there were no empty lots. On August 2, 1811, though, the city granted a petition for a large parcel at Montgomery and Hull streets—where the church never was built. Instead, it was built at Drayton and Perry.

In 1876, another new building was built along Harris Street, between Abercorn Street and Lincoln Street. In 1898, this structure caught fire and was almost completely destroyed. The then bishop of Savannah, Thomas A. Becker, said, while looking at the devastation, "The Cathedral must be rebuilt, and as soon as possible.

The reconstructed church was completed in late 1899 and held its first mass on December 24 of that year. It was dedicated on October 28, 1900, by Archbishop Sebastian Martinelli. The cathedral remains one of the largest church buildings in the Southern United States.

(<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_of_St._John_the_Baptist_(Savannah,_Georgia)" rel="nofollow">source</a>)