History of Richmond Hill
Richmond Hill forms the southeastern corner of Bryan County (named for Revolutionary War patriot Jonathan Bryan) and is located at 31°56' 17" N, 81° 18' 49" W. It has a total area of 10 square miles.
Site of former southern rice plantations, which grew rice to feed the Confederate Army, and cotton plantations Gen. Sherman and his land troops captured this strong-hold and looted and burned almost every plantation in the area. Then in 1887 a devastating hurricane wiped out the remaining dikes and equipment. The plantation owners moved away, leaving former slaves and their families to scratch out a meager living. Early in the 20th century nearly everyone lived in poverty and greater than half the population suffered with malaria.
A Scotsman, James Dunham, was one of the original settlers of this area and owned the swamp just down the road from the location of the new Dunham Marsh community. His nephew Jacob was the first person baptized in the region and some of his descendants still live in the coastal Georgia area.
Richmond Hill was transformed in the 1930s with the arrival of automotive giant Henry Ford. Enchanted by the beauty of the local marshlands, rivers and terrain, Ford purchased 75, 000 acres here and built his winter estate in 1937. The estate is now known as the Ford Plantation along the Ogeechee River in the 1930s. The name "Richmond Hill" is thought to have been derived from Ford's fondness for the same town in Ontario, Canada which was not far from his home in Michigan.
Ford was also responsible for the construction of a number of public buildings, including a schoolhouse which now houses the museum of the Richmond Hill Historical Society, and a chapel which now houses St. Anne's Catholic Church. Both are located on Georgia Highway 144, also known as Ford Avenue within the Richmond Hill city limits. The Ford Plantation has now been redeveloped as a luxury private recreational community, with magnificent residences, vacation cottages, a clubhouse, tennis, and golf.
Richmond Hill changed to its current name in 1941 and was incorporated in March 1962. The current Mayor is Richard R. Davis, who has served in that capacity since 1989 and was last reelected to a four year term in November 2005. The city is governed by the Mayor and a four member city council.
A large percentage of South Bryan residents live outside the city limits of Richmond Hill, especially in a number of planned developments east of the city along S.R. 144. This area contains large amounts of marsh and riverfront property, Fort McAllister Historic Park, and the small hamlet of Keller, which is near Dunham Marsh.
Geographically, it is significantly larger than the municipal limits of Richmond Hill itself. However, the area is largely residential, and as a result, residents of the entire South Bryan area rely on Richmond Hill proper for basic services and generally say they "from Richmond Hill."
