Riceboro City Hall is located at 4614 South Coastal Highway, Riceboro, Georgia 31323.
Phone: 912-884.2986
The City of Riceboro [†] is the oldest existing city in Liberty County. John and William Graves received a grant of 2,100 acres of land in 1756/1757 along the banks of the North Newport River. The soil was perfect for rice planting and access to the river was important for the transportation of goods. A fort was constructed on the Newport River for the protection of the settlers. The location of this area was ideal at the time because a road ran from Savannah to the Altamaha River through this vicinity. This land would later become known as Gravesend, for the Graves brothers. The brothers surveyed town lots and sold them to planters.
The settlement flourished and large quantities of rice were shipped from the port, which made the name Riceborough appropriate. After the Revolutionary War, Sunbury, then the current county seat experienced a decline in economic vitality and a decreased population. On February 1, 1797 "a place to be called Riceborough: was designated as the new site for courthouse and other public buildings. The spelling "borough" was important at that time because it signified a fortified settlement; the spelling of Riceborough was later changed to Riceboro. For forty years Riceboro was the center of political and commercial activity in the county. As the population of the inland areas outnumbered the coastal area, a centralized county seat was needed. The county seat was transferred from Riceboro to Hinesville in 1837, over time the city lost its importance as a port. However, Riceboro continued to thrive. The city gained a railroad and a station for shipping naval stores and timber that replaced rice. Riceboro was incorporated on January 1, 1927.
† >em>Joint Comprehensive Plan 2040: Liberty County, Allenhurst, Flemington, Gum Branch, Hinesville, Midway, Riceboro, Walthourville, 2016, dca.ga.gov, accessed August, 2022.