[7] The town of Sylvania was founded in 1790 by settlers migrating to the area after the American Revolutionary War.

[9] As part of the projects of the Works Progress Administration, federally commissioned murals were produced from 1934 to 1943 in the United States through the Section of Painting and Sculpture, later called the Section of Fine Arts, of the Treasury Department.

The mural is now on permanent loan from the federal government and is held by Georgia Southern University in Statesboro.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.8 square miles (9.8 km2), all land.

Sylvania's elevation is 230 feet and is slightly higher than most of the land throughout Screven County.

Although Spanish moss is not as prevalent as in nearby Savannah, it can still be seen in Sylvania and the surrounding countryside.

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,634 people, 1,092 households, and 672 families residing in the city.