City Of Sylvania

Mission Statement:
The City of Sylvania provides quality services with pride and professionalism to enable our community and visitors to enjoy the highest quality of life and to promote economic development.

History:
By 1793 it was realized that the original counties of 1777 and the new counties of 1790 were still too large. Late in that year a new county was formed. This county named for patriot,General James Screven, encompassed southern Burke County and northern Effingham County extending westward to the Canoochee River.Court was held in the home of Benjamin Lanier near present day Rocky Ford to make access easier for those who lived on the other side of the Ogeechee River.

In 1796 the creation of Bulloch County left Screven County with the land between the Savannah and Ogeechee Rivers. The power and population base remained in the colonial area between Briar Creek and Savannah River. In 1797, a new county seat was created. A site was located at the edge of Beaverdam Creek at the ford of the old colonial road which connected Savannah to Augusta.

By the 1830’s settlement had filled the county to the Ogeechee. The coming of the Central Railroad following the Louisville Road created a shift in economic power from an economy dominated by boat traffic on the Savannah River to the iron horse with its iron road.

The rising powers of the southern part of the county proposed a change in the seat of government which was primarily owned and controlled by the old guard from the northern part of Screven County.

Through careful plans and moves by the brilliant surveyor, Azariah Enneis and commissioners from the southern part of the county a new county seat was established in 1847. The visionary, Enneis, created a spacious symmetrical city plan with variable sized lots which design survives intact in modern Sylvania. Enneis chose the site at the center of the county near the highest elevation in the county. This foresight and design serves the county and city to this day.