EARLY HISTORY OF SCREVEN COUNTY
LAND OF THE YUCHES
For about 20 years after the settlement of Savannah
in 1733, the territory that was to become Screven County was part of the
"Yuchi Land" and the Indians of that tribe roamed the wilderness
between the Savannah and Ogeechee Rivers, on both sides of Brier Creek,
with little interference from the invading white men. Only a few footloose
traders appeared in their domain before 1750.
THE GERMAN SETTLEMENT
The first white settlers of Screven County were Germans.
They were not Salzburgers from Ebenezer, but quite recent immigrants from
Europe, members of the Bethany Colony established in 1751 by William Gerrard
be Brahm in the area between Ebenezer Creek and the present boundary of
Screven and Effingham Counties. A group of about 160 Germans came to America
with De Brahm on the ship "Antilope", landing in October, 1751. Early the
following year, another group of about the same number came on the "Success"
and joined the Bethany Colony. Within a year or so, some of these Germans
from Bethany moved further up the Savannah River and became the first settlers
of what we now call Screven County. Before the Revolution, a German settlement
called "New Goettingen" was laid out on the Savannah River at Burton's
Ferry.
THE AMERICAN SETTLERS
Soon afterwards, settlers with English
(or Scotch-Irish) names began moving into the area. These people came mostly
from the Carolina's and Virginia, though some of them were from Maryland
and Pennsylvania. They were native-born Americans, as were for the most
part, their fathers grandfathers before them. Slowly, beginning about 1753,
they began to populate the bottom lands along the Savannah River, Brier
Creek, and the Ogeechee River, avoiding the sandy country side of the "Pine
Barrens", and the tide of immigration swelled during the later part of
the 1750's and the decade of the 1760's.
THE PARISHES
In 1758, Georgia was divided in eight parishes.
A parish called St. Matthew's included what is now Effingham County and
most of what is now Screven County, while another parish called St. George's
took in present-day Burke County and the upper part of present-day Screven
County. the dividing line between these two parishes extended along Brier
Creek from the Savannah River to the north of Beaver Dam Creek and southwesterly
to the mouth of the Horse Creek on the Ogeechee River. The area established
as St. George's Parish has previously been known as the Halifax District,
and this name continued to be used for some years, along with the parish
name.
THE INDIAN TREATY
The settlers of this time were actually intruders,
since the lands still legally belonged to the Indians. Most of the
Yuchis, however, had moved to the western part of Georgia and there were
hundreds of square miles of vacant lands to tempt the white men. the intrusion
was legalized in November 1763 when a formal cession of the lands between
the Savannah and Ogeechee Rivers was signed at the Southern Indian District
Congress in Augusta.
THE FIRST COUNTIES
In 1777, after the Revolution had broken out, the
State of Georgia set up eight counties. What had been St. Matthew's
Parish became Effingham County and St. George's Parish became Burke County.
Screven County, of course, was not to become into existence for some years
so its present territory was in Effingham and Burke Counties during this
period.
THE BATTLE OF BRIER CREEK
The British invaded Savannah in December, 1778, and
soon Colonel Archibald Campbell marched his army up the Savannah River
to Augusta. He could not hold this position long, however, and fell back
to Hudson's Ferry. As he retreated, an American force under General John
Ashe moved into the territory he left behind. On March 3, 1779, which encamped
above Brier Creek, crossed at the present site of Millhaven, and descended
on the American camp from the rear. The British achieved total surprise
and "The Battle of Brier Creek" was an American defeat. During the subsequent
years of the Revolution, Screven County seems to have been dominated bu
the British, although the Americans held Augusta and the South Carolina
side of the Savannah River during most of this period. The British were
finally driven out of Georgia in July, 1782.
SCREVEN COUNTY CREATED
When the war was over, the population of Georgia
continued to grow and new counties were created. Screven County
was the fourteenth established in the state; it was created by and act
of the legislature approved December 14, 1793, and was named for General
James Screven. It originally extended all the way to the Canoochee River
and included the sites of the present towns of Statesboro, Metter and Twin
City. The first courthouse was the home of Benjamin Lanier near Rocky Ford.
The first county officers were William Coursey, sheriff; Thomas Hilton,
clerk of the Superior Court; Robert Williams, clerk of the Inferior court;
Robert Stafford, surveyor; Lumeul Lanier, register of Probate; and William
Brigar, Coroner.
BULLOCH COUNTY
On February 8, 1796, Bulloch County was created
by the state legislature and all of Screven County's territory south of
the Ogeechee River was transferred into the new county. In time, parts
of this area of old Screven county entered into the formation of Emanuel,
Evans, Candler, and Jenkins Counties. The 1796 boundaries of Screven County
remained substantially the same down to the present day, except for the
loss of one corner to Jenkins County in 1905.
JACKSONBORO
An act of the legislature passed February 1, 1797,
authorized five citizens to select and purchase fifty acres on which to
build a courthouse and jail. the five Commissioners chose a site on Beaver
Dam Creek and Bought 50 acres from Solomon Gross. This site became the
town of Jacksonboro, confirmed by the legislature as the county seat of
Screven County February 16, 1799. The town was named for General James
Jackson, who was governor of Georgia at the time.
LORENZO DOW
Jacksonboro turned out to be a rather rough frontier
town, a fact which gave rise to the well known legend of "The Curse of
Lorenzo Dow." Dow was a colorful itinerant preacher who traveled all over
the country in the early part of the nineteenth century. It was his misfortune
to his Jacksonboro about 1820; he seems to have been treated very badly
by the people of the town, although he was befriended and protected by
his host, Seaborn Goodall, and when he left town, the legend says, he stamped
the dust of Jacksonboro off his feet and pronounced a curse on the town,
thoughtfully excepting the home of the gently Mr. Goodall. today, Jacksonboro
is a dead town, nothing remaining of it but the legend and the home of
Seaborn Goodall.
SYLVANIA
Actually, Jacksonboro was doomed by a decision
made by the people of the county in October, 1847, when they voted to
move the seat of government. Seven commissioners had been named by the
Grand Jury to choose a site and erect new public buildings. They voted
(4 to 3, after much argument) to accept a fifty acre tract picked out by Azaria Ennis, surveyor, and the owner, Charles Church, let them have it
for a dollar and acre. the Commissioners paid Curtis Humphries $1,575 to
build a courthouse and gave James P. Bazemore $400 to build a new jail.
Around the new, and undoubtedly crude, public buildings a new town gradually
developed. The removal was approved by the General Assembly in December
1847. The name "Sylvania" we are told, was chosen by Cuyler Young, a young
man of "Poetic Nature" who also named the village of Halcyondale, where
he lived.
ROCKYFORD
Rocky Ford may be officially known as one of Sreven
County's youngest towns, but the reputation of the area dates back to the
mid 1700's. The town, Rocky Ford was the first governmental seat of Screven
County more than a century before the town was created. Once the town was
created it grew rapidly. Rocky Ford served as a shipping point for the
large amounts of lumber being harvested from the surrounding area at the
time.
Little Ogeechee Baptist Church, Oliver
The Little Ogeechee Baptist Church was formed in
1790 in Oliver Georgia by a group of loving, and caring people. There was
also a church cemetery that was enclosed by a fence. The first pastor of
this church was William Cone Of Bulloch County. It was said that in the
first years of the church the pastor swam his horse across the river because
there were no bridges or ferries at that time. The church has grown a lot
from the small log meeting house it was.
Information provided by the late Dixon Hollingsworth,
author of "The History of Screven County"