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B−History
History · Sylvania

Sylvania dates to 1790, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 55% of U.S. towns · #97 of 263 in Georgia. What drives it

Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1927 on, and the census since 1880.

1790founded
0on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
8famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Sylvania’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Sylvania began

When was Sylvania founded?

1790

Sylvania dates its founding to 1790 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 314 in 18802020 census: 2,634236 years

How historic is Sylvania?

B−

More historic than 55% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1848.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Sylvania’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sylvania is more historic than 55% of U.S. towns, #97 of 263 in Georgia. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Sylvania’s overall grade.
Founding era1790, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194016.5% of homes (±9.9) · typical GA town 3.8% · U.S. 8.4%BNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical GA town 10.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 55%
NewerOlder
Georgia towns of 2,500+ (263)Ahead of 63%

Georgia towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Georgia town has 10.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Sylvania’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (16% of Georgia towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.9 points). Two sources give 1790.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Sylvania’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsEstablished in 1790: 236 years of Sylvania.Famous sons and daughtersGeorge Elliott Hagan, Penny Thompson and 6 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Sylvania’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Sylvania’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPhotograph of downtown Sylvania, Georgi…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Timeline

Sylvania, 1790 to 1979

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 18th century
  2. 1790
    FoundingSylvania is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1848Post officeThe Sylvania post office opens
  5. 1884Born hereArchibald Battle Lovett is born here
  6. 20th century
  7. 1916Born hereGeorge Elliott Hagan is born here
  8. 1917Born herePenny Thompson is born here
  9. 1943On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1947In the archivePhotograph of downtown Sylvania, Georgia, 1947
  11. 1951In the archivePhotograph of the exterior of the Ogeechee Tractor Company, Sylvania, Georgia, 1951
  12. 1979Born hereFrancys Johnson is born here
Famous people

8 famous people were born in Sylvania

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
George Elliott HaganAmerican politician · b. 1916
Penny ThompsonAmerican aviator and air race-show promoter fro… · b. 1917
A
Archibald Battle LovettUnited States federal judge · b. 1884
F
Francys JohnsonCivil Rights Activist, Attorney and Clergy · b. 1979
J
Jim OsborneAmerican football player · b. 1949
B
Burdell YoungAmerican baseball player · b. 1898
The story

How Sylvania came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Sylvania.

Read it all →

The area was inhabited for thousands of years by various cultures of indigenous peoples. By the time of European encounter, it was occupied by the Yuchi peoples, but some Creeks, the Uchee's allies, moved into the area during Colonial times.

The town of Sylvania was founded in 1790 by settlers migrating to the area after the American Revolutionary War. The word "Sylvania" comes from the Latin word sylvan or sylva which means "forest land" or "place in the woods."

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Sylvania, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1940s to the 1950s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s–1950s4 items
Photograph of downtown Sylvania, Georgia, 19471947Photograph of downtown Sylvania, Georgia, 1947Photograph of the exterior of the Ogeechee Tractor Company, Sylvania, Georgia, 19511951Photograph of the exterior of the Ogeechee Tractor Co…Photograph of vocational agriculture students learning about tractor operation and maintenance from an instructor, Sylv…1951Photograph of vocational agriculture students learnin…Photograph of vocational agriculture students learning about tractor operation and maintenance from an instructor, Sylv…1951Photograph of vocational agriculture students learnin…
1960s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today8 recent
Georgia Farm2013Georgia FarmSylvania city square at night, Sylvania, Ga2011Sylvania city square at night, Sylvania, GaScreven County Court, Sylvania, Ga2011Screven County Court, Sylvania, GaPost Office, Sylvania, Ga2011Post Office, Sylvania, GaMethodist Church, Sylvania, Ga2011Methodist Church, Sylvania, GaHigh School, Sylvania, Ga2011High School, Sylvania, GaFirst Baptist Church, Sylvania, Ga2011First Baptist Church, Sylvania, GaGAMap-doton-Sylvania2005GAMap-doton-Sylvania
On the map

Sylvania on the map, 1943 to 1981

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Sylvania. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Sylvania on the 1943 USGS mapSylvania on the 1981 USGS map1943Millen sheet · 1:125,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Sylvania.

Every building

Sylvania, building by building, 1927

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Sylvania fire insurance map, 1927, sheet 11927Sheet 1 of 6
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Photograph of downtown Sylvania, Georgia, 1947
Retake this viewPhotograph of downtown Sylvania, Georgia, 1947, 1947

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Sylvania’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Sylvania, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,50018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 3,469

Between 314 and 3,469 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Sylvania’s Wikipedia page.

Questions about Sylvania’s history

What year was Sylvania founded?

In 1790, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Sylvania’s post office opened in 1848, and the census of 1880 counted 314 people here.

How does Sylvania rank for history?

Sylvania is more historic than 55% of U.S. towns, #97 of 263 in Georgia. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in Sylvania?

17% of Sylvania’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.9 points), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 1965.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (12), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.