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Georgia · Coastal Georgia · #584
Effingham County, Georgia
North of Savannah on the Savannah River plain, Effingham County has been one of Georgia's fastest-growing counties by percentage for a decade - a county that has absorbed Savannah's northward suburban expansion while its county seat of Springfield retains enough small-town character to remind residents that this was farming country not long ago.
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Office: Effingham County Sheriff’s Office – 500 West First Street, Springfield, GA 31329 | (912) 754-3449 | Email: [email protected]; Sheriff Jimmy McDuffie, in office since 2002. Under Sheriff McDuffie, the office opened its first substation in Guyton in February 2003 (with a public 911 hotline outside the station), organized a K-9 unit in September 2003, and opened a second substation in Faulkville in April 2004. Hours: Mon-Thu 8 AM-6:30 PM (Judicial Complex Security Desk), Fri 8 AM-varies.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911. The office’s documented sheriff lineage stretches back to John Dasher, who served 1852-1863.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-95 and SR-21 serve Springfield, the county seat; Rincon is the county’s largest city, part of the Savannah metropolitan area. Effingham County was ranked the sixth-fastest-growing midsize county in the nation from 2000 to 2007 by the U.S. Census Bureau, with a 35.1% growth rate over that period.
Notes: Effingham County is one of Georgia’s original counties, created February 5, 1777, from the colonial parishes of St. Matthew and St. Phillip, named for Thomas Howard, 3rd Earl of Effingham. Springfield, established in 1799 (likely named for a local plantation) and incorporated in 1838, carries the motto “Where What’s Close to Your Heart Still Matters.”
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Old Effingham County Courthouse – 901 N. Pine Street, Springfield, GA (built 1908-1909, cost $40,000, Neoclassical/Palladian, architect Hyman C. Whitcover of Savannah; National Register of Historic Places since 1980), replacing an 1849 predecessor courthouse; construction followed the 1907 extension of George Mills Brinson’s railroad to Springfield.
Notes: The current Sheriff’s Office and jail, at 130 First Street Extension, Springfield, GA, was completed in 1993, replacing a 1934 two-story jail where the sheriff and his family lived downstairs while inmates were housed upstairs in “tool proof” steel-reinforced cells; before 1918, jailed individuals were held in a small block structure near Pine and Early Streets, and it was customary for the sheriff’s wife to cook meals for inmates.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Effingham County Veterans Services – confirm current contact via effinghamcounty.org.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Effingham County Library System (Springfield) – confirm current addresses/phones via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Old Effingham County Courthouse and the Clarence E. Morgan Complex (site of community events including Touch-a-Truck) are among the county’s premier heritage and community attractions.
Notes: Confirm current parks and recreation facilities via effinghamcounty.org.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Effingham County Tax Assessor – confirm current contact via effinghamcounty.org.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Confirm current dedicated shelter contact via effinghamcounty.org; Effingham County Sheriff’s Office for animal control arrangements.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Effingham County Solid Waste / Planning & Zoning – confirm current contact via effinghamcounty.org.
NOTES: Effingham County is the forty-third county completed in Georgia’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine historical detail of the sheriff’s family cooking meals for inmates in the pre-1934 jail is among the standout local facts covered in this project. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Effingham County
Effingham County’s growth story follows a pattern familiar to counties adjacent to dynamic metros: Savannah’s expansion north along I-95 and Highway 21 made Effingham County accessible to Chatham County workers seeking more space and lower housing costs, and the result has been population growth that has more than doubled the county since 2000. The proximity to Savannah’s port, logistics, and healthcare employment base combined with newer housing options at lower prices than Chatham County has driven consistent in-migration.
Springfield maintains the character of a genuine small Georgia county seat – a courthouse square with functioning small-town commerce and a community identity rooted in the agricultural and timber economy of the Savannah River plain. The Salzburger heritage of the county’s founding – German Protestant immigrants from Salzburg established Jerusalem Church here in 1769, the oldest Lutheran church in continuous use in Georgia – gives Effingham County a distinctive colonial history among Georgia’s coastal counties. The Savannah River National Laboratory (across the river in South Carolina) provides some employment for county residents. Industrial development along the I-95 corridor has added logistics and distribution employment.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Georgia assesses property at 40% of fair market value. Property owners have 45 days from the notice of assessment to appeal to the Board of Assessors, then to the Board of Equalization. Georgia offers school tax exemptions for seniors 62 and older. Georgia has no estate or inheritance tax.
Courts & Legal
Courts & Legal
SENIOR SERVICES
Southeast Georgia Area Agency on Aging
P.O. Box 1917, Waycross, GA 31502
Phone: (912) 285-6097
Senior transportation, Meals on Wheels, caregiver support, and long-term care counseling for Effingham County residents.
Senior Services
Southeast Georgia Area Agency on Aging
P.O. Box 1917, Waycross, GA 31502
Phone: (912) 285-6097
Senior transportation, Meals on Wheels, caregiver support, and long-term care counseling for Effingham County residents.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK OF SUPERIOR COURT (Records, Marriage Licenses)
901 N. Laurel St., Springfield, GA 31329
(912) 754-2118
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Probate Court of Effingham County (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Ebenezer Townsite and Jerusalem Lutheran Church (built 1769), east of Springfield, is a National Register of Historic Places site tied to the county’s Salzburger heritage.
Local societies
Effingham County Genealogical and Historical Society, Springfield, GA.
Georgia Salzburger Society, headquartered in historic Ebenezer, Effingham County – preserves the history of the Georgia Salzburgers, German-speaking Protestant refugees who settled the area in the 1730s.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Probate Court of Effingham County P.O. Box 307, Springfield, GA 31329 (912) 754-6071
Effingham County is one of Georgia’s 8 original 1777 counties, formed from the colonial parishes of St. Matthew and St. Phillip. It’s part of the Savannah metropolitan area and was ranked the 6th-fastest-growing midsize U.S. county from 2000–2007. The 1908 Effingham County Courthouse (Springfield) and its 1935 jail are both on the National Register of Historic Places.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Georgia is NOT a Uniform Probate Code state and doesn’t use a simple dollar-threshold “small estate affidavit” like many states. Instead it offers several distinct shortcuts, each suited to a different situation:
Banking Affidavit – for intestate estates with less than $15,000 in bank deposits and no other assets requiring administration. No court filing needed at all.
No Administration Necessary (Standard Form 9) – available when all heirs agree on how to divide the property and there are no debts (or all creditors consent). Can transfer real estate without full administration, but requires unanimous heir agreement – any disagreement forces the estate into formal probate.
Year’s Support (Standard Form 10, O.C.G.A. Chapter 53-3) – a distinctively Georgia protection: the surviving spouse and minor children can petition for property sufficient to maintain their standard of living for 12 months from the date of death. This takes priority over virtually all creditor claims and even most specific bequests in the will. Must be filed within 24 months of death. No bond, no inventory filing, no creditor claims period required – the fastest and simplest path when it applies.
Formal Administration – Petition to Probate Will (Common Form or Solemn Form) or Petition for Letters of Administration, when none of the above shortcuts fit.
COMMON FORM VS. SOLEMN FORM (a distinctively Georgia choice)
Common Form: the executor files the will with supporting evidence and the court admits it without notifying all heirs – faster and cheaper, but leaves a 4-year window during which interested parties can challenge the will.
Solemn Form (Standard Form 5): requires notice to all heirs; once granted, it’s final and binding much sooner, closing off future challenges.
If formal administration is needed
File the appropriate petition with the Effingham County Probate Court – Petition to Probate Will (Common or Solemn Form) if there’s a will, or Petition for Letters of Administration if not.
The court issues a citation, published in the county’s legal organ once a week for four weeks (O.C.G.A. § 53-5-2), giving interested parties a chance to object.
After the publication period, attend the hearing for appointment as personal representative.
Once appointed, the court issues Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (without one).
Send certified copies of the death certificate and Letters to all banks, brokerages, insurers, and retirement custodians; request date-of-death valuations and begin marshaling assets.
Obtain an EIN via IRS Form SS-4 and open an estate checking account.
Prepare an inventory of assets with date-of-death fair market values; the court may require this under O.C.G.A. § 53-7-30.
Pay debts and expenses in Georgia’s priority order (see below), then distribute remaining assets per the will or intestacy law.
What it costs
No Georgia state estate tax or inheritance tax.
Court filing fees typically range $100–$300 depending on the county.
Certified copies of Letters typically cost around $10 each.
Indigent petitioners may file an Affidavit of Indigency to request a fee waiver.
E-filing is available and encouraged statewide through platforms like PeachCourt or Odyssey eFileGA.
DEBT PRIORITY ORDER IF THE ESTATE CAN’T PAY EVERYTHING (O.C.G.A. §§ 53-3-1, 53-7-40)
Year’s Support for surviving spouse and minor children under 18.
Funeral expenses.
Costs of probate administration.
Expenses of the decedent’s last illness.
Taxes.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
901 N. Laurel St., Springfield, GA 31329
(912) 754-3449
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS / VOTER REGISTRATION
901 N. Laurel St., Springfield, GA 31329
(912) 754-2180
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
GA Dept of Public Health — Coastal
(912) 754-6441
GA DFCS — Effingham
(912) 754-6455
GA Medicaid
(800) 869-1150
Memorial Health (Savannah)
memorialhealth.com
Effingham Health System
effinghamhospital.org (Springfield)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Effingham County Health Department – confirm current contact via effinghamcounty.org.
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Editorial Trust
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Springfield
Population: 65,000
Area: 479 sq mi
Established: 1777
Tier: 4
Inmate Services
Care Packages
Send care packages to inmates in Effingham County facilities via Amazon.
