Effingham County was created in 1777 from the colonial parishes of St. Matthew and St. Philip. Georgia's 4th county was named for Lord Effingham, an English nobleman who was a colonial rights advocate and who refused to take up arms against the revolutionaries. Effingham County is one of the oldest settlement areas in America. The Lutheran Salzburg community established in 1734 at Ebenezer (German for "Stone of Help"), was the second settlement in Georgia.