Was Forrest Gump filmed at Wormsloe?

No. Forrest Gump was not filmed at Wormsloe. The famous running scenes were shot in the Beaufort, South Carolina area, with locations discussed including Yemassee and roads on St Helena Island, and the bench scenes were filmed at Chippewa Square in downtown Savannah. The bench itself was a movie prop and was later removed, because tourists were stepping into traffic to photograph it, so the bench in the square today is not the bench from the film. What was filmed at Wormsloe is The Last Song (2010), where the site stood in for the character Will’s family home, and the site has been used in other productions including The General’s Daughter (1999).

Forrest Gump here?No

Running scenesBeaufort SC area

Bench scenesChippewa Square

The benchA prop, later removed

Filmed hereThe Last Song, 2010

Also filmed hereThe General’s Daughter, 1999

Why the myth is everywhere

Two things feed it. The film is strongly associated with Savannah because of the bench, and Wormsloe is the most photographed avenue in the region, so a tunnel of live oaks with moss hanging off it looks like it belongs in that film even though it never appeared in it. Add years of social posts captioning the avenue with a Gump quote and the association sticks. I have been asked this question at the gate more times than any other, and the answer has always been the same one.

The bench, since people always ask next

It sat at Chippewa Square in downtown Savannah for the filming and it was a prop. It was removed afterwards because visitors kept walking into the road to photograph it. If you go to Chippewa Square today you will find the square, which is worth seeing, and no film bench. Where accounts disagree about a specific scene or a specific stretch of road, I would rather say so than pick the version that sounds tidiest.

What actually was filmed at Wormsloe

The Last Song (2010) used the site as the character Will’s family home, which is the credit most people are thinking of when they half-remember that something was shot here. Wormsloe has also been used as a location in other productions including The General’s Daughter (1999). None of that changes what you can see when you visit, which is the avenue, the tabby ruins and a small museum rather than any film set: what is actually there. And no, there is no house to go inside — that question in full.

Insider tip

If the film association is what drew you here, come anyway and come early. The avenue is the reason people keep miscrediting it, and at nine in the morning it more than lives up to the story that got attached to it.

Seeing it with someone who knows the difference

The six-hour trip from Savannah that includes Wormsloe and Bonaventure Cemetery, from $59 and rated 4.8 across 285 reviews, is the only bookable tour that drives into the site, and its guides deal with this question for a living, usually before the bus has finished turning in off Skidaway Road.

Check dates for the Wormsloe tour

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure on most tours — book now, decide later.

Frequently asked questions

Was Forrest Gump filmed at Wormsloe?

No. The running scenes were shot in the Beaufort, South Carolina area, including locations discussed around Yemassee and roads on St Helena Island, and the bench scenes were filmed at Chippewa Square in downtown Savannah.

Is the Forrest Gump bench still in Savannah?

Not in the square. The bench was a movie prop and it was later removed because tourists were stepping into traffic to photograph it, so what stands at Chippewa Square today is not the film bench.

What movies were filmed at Wormsloe?

The Last Song (2010), where the site stood in for the character Will’s family home, and other productions including The General’s Daughter (1999) — what you will recognise on site.

Is Wormsloe worth visiting if it is not in Forrest Gump?

The oak avenue is the reason people keep miscrediting it, and it is genuinely that good. Just do not expect a mansion — the honest verdict.