Darien was founded in 1736 about 1 mile from Fort King George, which was built in 1721. Darien was directly protected by Fort Darien, built in 1736. The current streets were laid out in an 1806 plan. The town was mostly destroyed in 1863 when it was burned by Union troops. Rebuilding the town started on the east side, followed by the west side. The east side of historic Darien is in the NRHP Vernon Square-Columbus Square Historic District. As of 2001, only one antebellum structure remained; otherwise the oldest buildings are from 1870 to 1910. The district includes 143 contributing buildings and eight contributing sites.[2]
Archaeology
The district contains a number of archaeological sites that were the subject of two studies in 1978 and 1983 as part of construction projects. These studies yielded both prehistoric and antebellum artifacts.[2]
Photos
Contributing buildings
Adam Strain building at Broad and Screven, the only existing building that survived the 1863 burning of Darien by the US Army
