The land on Hutchinson Ferry Road where Sylvania United Methodist Church is located was donated by Moses W. Johnson. I believe the congregation dates to around 1900-1905. They first met in a log schoolhouse, which may have been replaced by a frame church building at some point. The present structure was built between 1953-1954 and was dedicated in 1955.
A medical camp was established at this site in September 1820 by Dr. Thomas Lawson, surgeon of the 7th U. S. Infantry [and future Surgeon General], to care for soldiers suffering from malaria at nearby Fort Scott, a frontier outpost on the Flint River. It was thought that the higher elevation of the camp, away from the mosquito-infested swamps surrounding the fort would lead to the soldiers’ recovery, but around 40 died nonetheless, due to heavy rains followed by a period of cold weather. The campsite was abandoned by November 1820. Graves are unmarked but the site was first memorialized in 1882. In 1971, N. L. Sellars erected this gate to identify the site.
Vanishing Georgia: Photographs by Brian Brown 