The situation of the new Town, Mr. Strobel says, was quite romantic. “On the east lay the Savannah with its broad, smooth surface and its every varying and beautiful scenery. On the south was a stream, then called Little Creek, but now known as Lockner’s Creek, and a large lake called ‘Neidlinger’s Sea;’ while to the north, not very distant from the town, was to be seen their old acquaintance, Ebenezer Creek, sluggishly winding its way to mingle with the waters of the Savannah. The surrounding country was gently undulating and covered with a fine growth of forest trees, while the jessamine, the woodbine and the beautiful azalia, with its variety of gaudy colors, added a peculiar richness to the picturesque scene. But unfortunately for the permanent prosperity of the town, it was surrounded on three sides by low swamps which were subject to periodical inundation, and consequently generated a poisonous miasma prejudicial to the health of the inhabitants.”[12] The plan adopted in laying out the town was prescribed by General Oglethorpe, and closely resembles that of Savannah;—the size of the lots and the width of the streets and lanes being in each case quite similar. To John Gerar, William DeBrahm, his Majesty’s Surveyor General for the Southern District of North America, who in 1757 erected a fort at Ebenezer, are we indebted for an accurate plan of that town.[13] As the village increased, this plan was extended;—its distinctive characteristics being retained. From contemporaneous notices we learn that New Ebenezer, within a short time after its settlement, gave manifest token of substantial growth and prosperity. The houses there erected were larger and more comfortable than those which had been built in the old town. Gardens and farms were cleared, enclosed, and brought under creditable cultivation, and the sedate, religious inhabitants enjoyed the fruits of their industry and economy. Funds received from Germany for that purpose were employed in the erection of an Orphan House, in which, for lack of a Church, the community worshipped for several years.