Sunbury, Georgia | |
|---|---|
Ghost town | |
  Sunbury, Georgia Location in Georgia  Sunbury, Georgia Location in the United States | |
| Coordinates: 31°46′5″N 81°16′50″W / 31.76806°N 81.28056°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Georgia |
| County | Liberty |
| Elevation | 20 ft (6 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
Sunbury is a ghost town in Liberty County, Georgia. Established in 1758, the town was mostly abandoned by the mid-1800s.
The town is located on the south bank of the Midway River, in an area that was first settled by Europeans in the 1750s. The town was established in 1758 and quickly became an important seaport for the Province of Georgia after becoming a port of entry in the 1760s, rivaling the nearby port city of Savannah. During the American Revolutionary War, the town was defended by American troops stationed at Fort Morris. However, the town and fort were captured by the British in 1779, who burned the town near the war's end. Following the war, the town was economically devastated and struggled to recover. In the 1790s, the town lost its status as county seat and was later affected by an outbreak of yellow fever and two damaging hurricanes. What remained of the town in the mid-1800s was destroyed in 1864 as part of Sherman's March to the Sea during the American Civil War.