[1] The oldest buildings on the square, the Adam Short Property and the Alexander Bennett House (both on East Taylor Street), date to 1853.

[3] The Wesley Monumental United Methodist Church, founded in 1868, is located directly across the street from the square's western side.

The square had previously been used as a "negro burial ground"; in 1855, the bodies of enslaved residents Emily and Rinah were removed to Laurel Grove Cemetery.

[4] In 2004, a skull was found by utility workers outside the Massie Heritage Interpretation Center on the square's southeastern side.

[5] This legacy prompted a 2021 movement to rename the square after the Sankofa bird, a Ghanaian symbol expressing the "importance of knowing one's history.