The Lost Town of Sunbury, GA

Ghost. Lost. Dead. These are the words associated with the town of Sunbury, Georgia. And, it is quite literally the ghost of a town. There’s nothing there. No surviving buildings. No ruins. Almost no visible evidence that the colonial town ever existed – though it was once one of the most popular coastal south towns in our nation’s history.

While this is a sad reality for historians, it also presents us with a quiet, remote spot to listen for whispers of history. Explore the woods and try to trace the overgrown roads. Keep an eye out for misplaced plants, like a rose bush or fruit tree. Question how they got there. 
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​The lost town of Sunbury is the perfect place to let your imagination roam.

At its peak, Sunbury was the second largest British port in the Coastal South. Situated on the Midway River, it boasted five wharfs. Here, large ships exported cargoes of timber, rice, corn, indigo and other goods.

Sunbury’s first settlers arrived in the 1740s and the town was officially established in 1758. It had a whopping 496 lots, arranged into an orderly grid that spanned 200 acres. Three large squares served as community spaces (known as Church, King’s, and Meeting). 

While visiting Sunbury in 1773, famed naturalist William Bartram described the town: “There are about one hundred houses in the town neatly built of wood frame having pleasant piazzas around them. The inhabitants are genteel and wealthy, either merchants or planters from the Country who resort here in the Summer and Autumn, to partake of the salubrious sea breeze, bathing and sporting on the Sea Islands.” ​