Special to the Herald

SPRINGFIELD – Results and suggestions from the Ebenezer charette held Oct. 9 are going to be the topic of a public forum set for Nov. 14. The public forum will be held at Ebenezer Middle School from 6:30-8 p.m.

The charette, which was open only to the slightly more than 200 property owners bordering the affected land, was the first step in Effingham County’s effort to protect the historic and cultural significance of New Ebenezer.

About 60 people participated in the charette where small groups discussed and listed their top concerns for the future development. The results of the charette will be shared with the public on the meeting on Nov. 14.

The property owners are helping to determine the standards of a historic overlay district, which imposes additional zoning restrictions to existing ones. They were divided into eight groups to offer ordinance suggestions that were recorded by county staffers. These included barring the clear-cutting of trees, limiting the use of impervious surfaces, expanding buffer requirements, signage, and lighting restrictions, and more.

Listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places as Ebenezer Townsite and Jerusalem Lutheran Church in 1974, Ebenezer refers to the original settlement of the Georgia Salzburgers, a group of about 150 Protestant refugees from Salzburg, Austria. Established in 1734, it was initially located near Ebenezer Creek, but was moved to its current spot closer to the Savannah River a couple years later and renamed New Ebenezer. It served as Georgia’s capital for a brief period in 1782.