SCREVEN COUNTY

 

Screven County was first organized from parts of Burke and Effingham counties in 1793.  It had been part of the colonial parishes of Saint Matthew and Saint Phillips.  Later Screven County gave up part of its territory to form Bulloch and Jenkins counties.  Screven County was the fourteenth county created, and it was named for General James Screven, a Revolutionary War leader.

 

The first county seat and courthouse was the home of Benjamin Lanier at what is now Rocky Ford on the Ogeechee River, the western boundary of the county.  The now extinct town of Jacksonboro followed Rocky Ford as county seat, and finally the government moved to Sylvania which had been founded in 1845, its name derived from the Latin word meaning forest.  Courthouses at Sylvania have been destroyed by fire twice – in 1860 and in 1896.

 

The Revolutionary War Battle of Brier Creek took place in Screven County March 3, 1779 when British troops attacking through a swamp routed American forces.

 

President George Washington lodged at the Inn of Stephen Calfrey Pearce in Screven County in the spring of 1791.  The Pearce family reportedly prepared lavishly for his visit and would accept no payment from the President.