Effingham County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 64,769. The seat is Springfield. Effingham County is included in the Savannah metropolitan area. In 2008, Effingham County was ranked as the sixth-fastest-growing midsize county in the nation from 2000 to 2007 by the U.S. Census Bureau. The county had a 35.1% growth rate over that period.

History

Effingham was among the original counties of the state of Georgia, created February 5, 1777, during the American Revolution from the colonial parishes of St. Matthew and St. Phillip. Its name honors Lord Effingham, an English champion of colonial rights, who resigned his commission rather than fight against the rebel colonists during the American Revolution. During the war, most of the Loyalists in what is now Effingham County were first generation Scottish immigrants. After the war, notable Georgia patriots including Lyman Hall, Samuel Elbert, Edward Telfair, George Walton and Stephen Heard all made direct appeals to the Loyalists of Effingham County to "stay on" in Georgia, under the new republican form of government. In Effingham County, this effort was successful, and virtually all Loyalists in the county stayed. The town of Springfield was established in 1799, and most likely was named after a plantation.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 483 sqmi, of which 478 sqmi is land and 5.2 sqmi (1.1%) is water. The entire western edge of Effingham County, from south of Newington to east of Guyton, then south to southwest of Meldrim, is located in the Lower Ogeechee River sub-basin of the Ogeechee River basin. The bulk of the rest of the county is located in the Lower Savannah River sub-basin of the Savannah River basin. A narrow rectangular portion of south Effingham County, from south of Pineora through Meldrim, is located in the Ogeechee Coastal sub-basin of the Ogeechee River basin.

Adjacent counties

National protected area

Communities

Cities

Unincorporated communities

Ghost town

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 64,769 people, 21,172 households, and 15,424 families residing in the county.

Economy

In the early years of the 1900s, agriculture was the mainstay of the county economy. The chief agricultural products were Irish potatoes and sweet potatoes. The county farmers raised so many Irish potatoes in the early 1920s that they were shipped out numerous railroad boxcars, full of potatoes, during the summer months of those years. Small businesses, such as the Effingham Canning Company and Potato Barrel manufacturing mills, became big businesses. The Effingham Canning Company did not last long. It was established in 1918 at the site of the former Savannah Atlanta Railroad Locomotive Repair Shop in Springfield. This site today would be located across the road from Georgia Highway Department Maintenance Building on Georgia Highway 21, south of Springfield. A later canning company operated in the 1940s at the old elementary school grounds in Springfield. In the early 21st century, Effingham County has had unprecedented demand for industrial locations. Interest in industrial development has been spurred by the area's high population growth, tremendous growth at the Georgia ports and the ever-growing economy of coastal Georgia. Contributors include the military, aerospace industry and a diversified manufacturing base. The Savannah area is home to Gulfstream Aerospace and Hunter Army Airfield. The Effingham County Industrial Park has announced several new tenants since 2005. In 2007 it became the site of EFACEC Group, a Portuguese-based transformer manufacturer for their North and Central America operations. The U.S. factory is located in Rincon, Georgia and produces both core and shell technology power transformers. Other businesses include the Flint River Services refrigerated storage, ValuePart distribution center, as well as expansions of several existing industries in the park. The site is ideally located on a four-lane divided highway only 10 mi from Interstate 95 and within 15 mi of the Georgia Ports, the Savannah International Airport and the historic City of Savannah. The Effingham Industrial Development Authority acquired approximately 4000 acre for development. The acquisitions include a tract of approximately 200 acre adjacent to Interstate 16 and an additional 1550 acre tract on Interstate 16 seven miles from Interstate 95. Both tracts are within 15 mi of the Georgia Ports Authority, and within 10 mi of the Chatham County Mega-Site (formerly known as the DaimlerChrysler site) at the strategic intersection of Interstates 95 and 16. A potential of 10000000 sqft of light manufacturing and/or Distribution Center/ Warehousing space exists at this site. Another recent acquisition is the former Research Forest Tract. Approximately 2300 acre in size, this will be a "legacy" development to include commercial, executive office, heavy industrial, light industrial, professional service, research and recreational land uses. The site comprises three separate tracts of land six rail miles from the Georgia Ports Authority, with planned access to the Savannah River Parkway, Norfolk Southern mainline rail and CSX mainline rail. The property is being master planned. The development is planned to attract research and development, assembly operations, headquarters and other low-impact operations. Industry in Effingham County includes paper manufacturing—Georgia Pacific (Savannah River Mill), high-precision turbine blade production—Doncasters, aluminum geodesic dome production—Temcor, concrete pipe manufacturing—Hanson, customized business jet interiors—Edward's Interiors, electrical distribution power transformer production—EFACEC PT, among many others.

Transportation

Major highways

Railroads

Effingham County contains three major railroad lines. Two of them are owned by CSX and the other is owned by Norfolk Southern. The Norfolk Southern Savannah District and CSX Columbia Subdivision runs nearly parallel to one another before crossing the Chatham County Line towards Savannah. A third line (the Charleston Subdivision) runs northeast from Port Wentworth to the South Carolina State Line, and spends even less time in the county than Interstate 95. Amtrak runs three trains along the two CSX lines, neither of which stop anywhere within the county. The Silver Star (Amtrak train) runs along the Columbia Subdivision. The Palmetto and Silver Meteor trains run along the Charleston Subdivision, which has no stations, and no possible location for a station.

Education

Politics

Effingham County has been a reliably Republican county from 1984 onward. After supporting Dixiecrat Strom Thurmond in 1948, it began voting Republican earlier than most Georgia counties, albeit by very narrow margins. Effingham then voted in line with most other rural Deep South counties from 1964 to 1972. The only Democratic Party candidate to win the county since 1944 was Jimmy Carter, who won it convincingly in his statewide landslide in 1976 and narrowly in 1980.