Screven County, Georgia

Screven County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,067. The county seat is Sylvania.

History
The county was created on December 14, 1793, and was named for General James Screven, who died fighting in Georgia during the American Revolutionary War. Some wartime accounts used the alternate spelling of "Scriven" for the general, and the county's name was often spelled that way in its early history, as reflected on 19th-century Georgia maps.

Sylvania became the county seat in 1847, moved from Jacksonborough, by an act of State legislation. The Screven County Courthouse, built in 1964, is the fourth courthouse to serve Screven County.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 656 sqmi, of which 645 sqmi is land and 11 sqmi (1.6%) is water. The Savannah River borders the eastern side of the county, and the Ogeechee River borders the southwest portion. Elevation varies to around 40 feet on the Savannah river to 320 feet at the Bay Branch community, located a few miles west of Sylvania. Pine, oak, dogwood, and other trees prevalent to the South can be found in Screven County.

The very northern portion of Screven County, defined by a line running from Girard southeast and parallel to State Route 24 to the South Carolina border, is located in the Middle Savannah River sub-basin of the Savannah River basin. A north-central section of the county, from Sylvania north and centered on Hiltonia, is located in the Brier Creek sub-basin of the same Savannah River basin. The southern portion of Screven County, from Newington running northwest through Sylvania, is located in the Upper Ogeechee River sub-basin of the Ogeechee River basin. The remaining southeastern corner of the county is located in the Lower Savannah River sub-basin of the larger Savannah River basin.

Major highways
U.S. Route 301 Business
 * US 301.svg U.S. Route 301
 * Business plate.svg
 * Georgia 17.svg State Route 17
 * Georgia 21.svg State Route 21
 * Georgia 21 Business.svg State Route 21 Business
 * Georgia 24.svg State Route 24
 * Georgia 73.svg State Route 73

Adjacent counties

 * Allendale County, South Carolina (north)
 * Hampton County, South Carolina (east)
 * Effingham County (southeast)
 * Bulloch County (southwest)
 * Jenkins County (west)
 * Burke County (northwest)

Cities

 * Hiltonia
 * Oliver
 * Sylvania

Towns

 * Newington
 * Rocky Ford

Unincorporated

 * Cooperville
 * Dover
 * Halcyondale
 * Millhaven

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 14,067 people, 5,098 households, and 3,395 families residing in the county.

Politics
With the exception of 1928, Democrats carried the county in every election up until 1960. Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton both carried the county twice. Since 2000, the county always votes with the Republicans.

Notable people

 * John Abbot, naturalist, entomologist, wrote The Natural History of the Rarer Lepidopterous Insects of Georgia
 * Lee Rogers Berger, explorer, paleoanthropologist
 * Edward Junius Black, member of the United States House of Representatives (1839–1841; 1842–1845)
 * Bucky Dent, New York Yankees shortstop (born in Savannah) but spent his early years in Sylvania
 * Francys Johnson, senior NAACP official
 * Macay McBride, Major League Baseball pitcher
 * John R. McKinney, Georgia's most decorated World War II hero
 * Louie De Votie Newton, pastor and president of the Southern Baptist Convention
 * Sam Sommers, former NASCAR Driver, former Georgia Late Model Racing Champion, and Georgia Racing Hall of Fame member