Effingham County

Effingham County is the fourth oldest county in the state of Georgia, having been created from the colonial parishes of St. Matthew and St. Philips in 1777. The name honors Lord Effingham, an English champion of colonial rights and a nobleman who declined to fight the revolutionaries.

The county seat shifted several times before Springfield, the present site, was designated in the 1830s. The state legislature made the settlement of Tuckasee-King, near the Screven County line, the first county seat. This was the location, near the present town of Clyo, of a river ferry established by General Oglethorpe linking Tuckasee-King's Bluff in Georgia with Palachocolas settlements across the Savannah River in South Carolina. This was an important link with northern overland trade paths.

In 1787, the county seat was moved to Elberton on the Ogeechee River at Indian Bluff. A later legislature, meeting in the state capitol at Louisville in 1799, appointed five commissioners to lay out a new town to be known as Effingham.

Still another community, Ebenezer, served as county seat for about three years from 1796 to 1799. Ebenezer had been founded in 1767, by Salzburgers from Germany. They laid out their town on the pattern of Savannah, a quarter mile square containing a church, parsonage, academy, orphan house, market place, and public storehouse. This was a thriving town at the start of the Revolution, and it was fortified by the Continental soldiers in 1776. English Colonel Archibald Campbell successfully led his force against the town early in 1779, and held it until 1782. During this time the church was used first as a hospital and then as a stable for English cavalry. Ebenezer was a thoroughfare for English troops passing from Augusta to Savannah until recaptured by the Continentals in July 1782. Ebenezer was the headquarters of General Anthony Wayne, the county seat, and, for a short period, the actual capital of Georgia.

Much of Effingham County was settled originally by the fifteen hundred Salzburgers who joined Oglethorpe in 1733. They are known to have settled Bethany in 1751, with about 160 residents under the leadership of William DeBrahm. About ten miles south of Ebenezer, they built another settlement called Goshen. Ten other families established Abercorn. None of the towns endured.

Source: Foundations of Government - The Georgia Counties, Association County Commissioners of Georgia, 1976.

Latest News in this County

Barrow to Host “Congress on the Corner” in Savannah and Rincon

January 21, 2010

This Saturyda, January 23, 2010, Congressman John Barrow (GA-12) will be hosting "Congress on the Corner" in Savannah and Rincon.  "Congress on the Corner" is an opportunity for citizens to meet one-on-one with Congressman Barrow and to talk about what's going on in Washington.

Barrow Announces $32,375,000 in Direct Allocations of Recovery Zone Bonds for Communities in Georgia’s 12th District

June 12, 2009

Washington, D.C. - Congressman John Barrow (GA-12) announced today that the U.S. Treasury Department has made $25 billion in bond authority available under the Recovery Zone Bonds program.  Of that money, $32,375,000 will be available to communities in Georgia's 12th District.  Recovery Zone Bonds were created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which Congress passed and President Obama signed into law earlier this year.  Recovery Zone Bonds are targeted to areas particularly affected by job loss.  They will help local governments obtain financing for much needed economic development projects, such as public infrastructure development, at lower borrowing costs.

GEORGIA’S 12TH DISTRICT AWARDED $266,319 IN FEDERAL FUNDS FOR EMERGENCY FOOD AND SHELTER PROGRAM

April 9, 2009

Washington, D.C. - Congressman John Barrow (GA-12) announced today that $266,319 has been awarded to the 12th District of Georgia by the Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP).  Federal funds totaling $100 million were made available to the EFSP, through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, to bring immediate relief to communities to address unemployment, poverty, and other needs during the economic crisis.

Barrow Announces 12th District Schools to Receive an Estimated $70.9 Million

April 1, 2009

Washington, D.C. - Congressman John Barrow (GA-12) announced today that an estimated $70,969,000 in emergency education funding has been released for schools in Georgia's 12th District to help save education-related jobs and maintain programs for low-income students and students with disabilities. Schools in the 12th District will receive an estimated $42,376,000 in Title I funds and $28,593,000 in IDEA funds. 

Barrow Announces $2.3 million in Recovery Act Funds for Crime Prevention Efforts

March 12, 2009

Washington, DC - Congressman John Barrow (GA-12) announced that Georgia's 12th Congressional District will receive close to $2.3 million in Recovery Act 2009 funding for law enforcement assistance through the Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program.

Barrow to Host “Congress on the Corner” in Rincon, Sylvania, Statesboro, and Claxton

January 6, 2009

This Saturday, January 10, Congressman John Barrow (GA-12) will be in Rincon, Sylvania, Statesboro, and Claxton hosting "Congress on the Corner."  "Congress on the Corner" is an opportunity for citizens to visit one-on-one with Congressman John Barrow and discuss the issues that matter most to them. 

Barrow Nominates 12th District Students for U.S. Service Academies

December 31, 2008

Washington, DC - Congressman John Barrow (GA-12) today announced the names of the ten high school students from Georgia's 12th District he has nominated for admission to the service academies for the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Merchant Marine.