Historic Postcards of Screven County and Sylvania
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The Screven County Courthouse was built by Algernon Blair in 1897, after the previous courthouse had burned. Located in the center of Sylvania it cost $15,000 to build. The building was torn down in 1965. The current Chamber of Commerce is located on the site.
Public Square
Sylvania Main Street
Sylvania City Square at Night.
"A news story in 1920 stated that pictures would be shown at the auditorium all through the summer 'twice a week or maybe oftener. The auditorium is a delightful place for pictures through the summer, being cool and roomy,' the notice continued, ' and as only the best pictures will be shown, we feel sure the picture place will become popular with our people.' In mid-summer, the shows began at 9:40 P.M., presumably because it did not get dark until late and it was difficult to blackout the auditorium.
"The last reference …to the 'Auditorium Theatre' was on July 15, 1921, when Mary Pickford was playing in 'Pollyanna.' In 1925, there were ads in The Telephone for the Premier Theatre. It was located on Main Street, in the structure known as 'the concrete building,' originally constructed for L.H. Hilton Sr. W.G. Sharpe had constructed a new building next door for his Ford agency, and it appears that he operated the 'picture show' at that time. E.B. Bennett managed the theater for Mr. Sharpe, and later became the owner.
A residential section of Sylvania. Build in 1905 by J.J.D. Morel the home on the right was on the corner of what is now Main and W.T. Sharpe Drive. The house was moved in 1936 to its present location on N. Main Street.
The City of Sylvania Post Office
The Dell House is a significant historical landmark in Screven County. This is the only building left in Jacksonboro, the first county seat of Screven County. It is currently known as the Dell-Goodall House and is the first stop on the Screven County section of the Heritage Trail.
The Sylvania High School was constructed in 1903 and torn down in 1924 to make way for the new brick high school that was built at the same location. It was located behind the current Rite Aid..
"The new school building in Sylvania was a two-story wooden structure designed by an Augusta Architect, C.F. Goodrich, and erected by J.B. Bond, of Lithonia. The building was…60x65 feet in size, with four class rooms downstairs and an auditorium and two small class rooms upstairs.
"School began on Sept. 28, 1903, with Prof. W.A. Mulloy as principal and Miss Alva Ellis as his assistant. Enrollment was only 65 on opening day, but climbed past 150 by February. During the year, two new teachers, Miss Isabel Hollingsworth and Miss Elizabeth Wyche, joined the faculty. The school was officially called Sylvania High School, but it included primary, intermediate, and grammar school departments."
The Screven County High and Agricultural School was dedicated in 1919.
"In 1915, C.J. Smith, a respected teacher, led the black citizens of Sylvania in preparing a petition asking for a "colored school" in Sylvania. The petition bore fruit when the Screven County High and Agricultural School was dedicated in 1919, with C.J. Smith as principal. By 1928, Hawley Bryan was principal of the school. In 1939, when J.T. Lacy became principal, the school was called Screven County Training School, and it later came to be known as Central High School.
"In December of 1923, the people of Sylvania voted, 319 to 2, to issue bonds to build a new school, and in April of 1924 the National Bank of Sylvania bought the bonds for $46,000. Work must have proceeded rapidly because the new brick building was occupied that fall. The structure,…was 454 feet long and had 14 classrooms. W.B Lovett, the school superintendent, said it extended form the cradle to the grave, since the kindergarten (where Miss Mae Humphries presided) was at one end and the graveyard was at the other. In 1927, the people of the town bonded themselves again, this time to add an auditorium to their fine new school."
Men in Car. Front Seat: L. H. Hilton, J. A. Davis. Rear Seat: Dr. Overstreet, Dr. Powell, Wyley Bazemore in rear.
The First Baptist Church before the addition of the Family Life Center. It is located on South Main Street.
"The First Baptist Church of Sylvania was originally located on a sixteen-acre tract which Azariah Ennis donated in 1847, before a single house had been built in the new town. The church was constituted on March 5, 1848, with Elders Moses N. McCall and Jacob Wheeler serving as the Presbytery. Charter members were Peter Arnett, Azariah Ennis, John Lee, W.J. Lawton, Rebecca Arnett, and Harriet Bazemore, and Moses N. McCall was the first pastor. The first rough frame building was located within the confines of what is now the old Sylvania cemetery. The present church property was purchased in 1899, when the Rev. Hamilton J. Arnett, who served more than twenty years, was pastor. Construction work on the present brick house of worship began in 1917, when the Rev. R.W. Selman was pastor. Many improvements have been made."
The First United Methodist Church before the addition of a new Fellowship Hall.
"The First Methodist Church of Sylvania traces its history back to the Methodist church at Jacksonboro, which was granted a charter in 1828, with Seaborn Goodall, Isaac Bryan, Peyton L. Wade, John Green, James Boston, William Smith, and Jacob Bryan as trustees. When the county seat was moved to Sylvania in 1847, the most of the congregation moved also, and a plot of four acres was set aside for a Methodist church, at the site of the present building. The Methodist Church of Sylvania was chartered in 1854, with Charles Church, Jacob Wells, Samuel Varndoe, Arthur Robbins, Jr., and Edmund B. Gross as trustees. The first pastor in Sylvania was Albert G. Rowland. The present building was constructed under the leadership of the Rev. Leonard Cochran in 1935-36. It has been extensively enlarged and improved since that time."
The Chuck Wagon Restaurant and Gift Shop was on 301 South, about three miles out of town, next to the drive-in theatre.
The Wright Dixie Motel was at the south end of the Highway 301 Bypass.
The Dreamland
The Golden Sands Motel was one of the first motels when entering Sylvania from South Carolina. It was on the east side of Highway 301, about three miles from the Georgia-South Carolina line.
Hotel Screven was located on the corner beside the Post Office, where the BB&T Bank is now.
Johnson's Motel
The Paradise Hotel
Pippin Court
Smith Brothers Oil Company and 301 Restaurant was on the corner of Millen Highway and 301 North which is now Neighbors Service Station and McDonalds.
Postcards courtesy of Alex Lee
Information provided by Barbara Gilbert and Pauline Watson. Quotations are from "The History of Screven County, Georgia" by Dixon Hollingsworth.
Imaging courtesy of Don Ernst.