Ebenezer was laid off in 1736, after the plan of Savannah, covering an area of a quarter of a mile square. Besides the homes, the plan included a church, parsonage, an academy, orphan house, public storehouse and market places.
A thriving town at the beginning of the Revolution, Ebenezer was fortified by the Continentals in 1776. On January 2, 1779, it was captured by Colonel Archibald Campbell, and occupied by the British until early in 1782. During this time the people of Ebenezer were exposed to every hardship. The town was again fortified by earthworks, its handsome brick Jerusalem Church was used first as a hospital for sick and wounded soldiers, later as a stable for cavalry horses. Ebenezer became a thoroughfare for British troops passing from Augusta to Savannah.
On the first Tuesday in July, 1782, as the town was once more in the hands of the Continentals and the headquarters of General Anthony Wayne, the Georgia legislature assembled there, and Ebenezer became for a short time the actual Capital of Georgia. February 16, 1796, Ebenezer was made the County Seat of Effingham, and so served until 1799, when the Courts were removed to Springfield.
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