In 1730, the British Crown instructed South Carolina Governor Robert Johnson to lay out eleven townships to populate and protect the interior of the province. Purrysburg Township, laid out in 1731, stimulated settlement in this area, but the growth of Savannah caused the town of Perrysburg to be unsuccessful. By 1732, Swiss Protestants led by entrepreneur Jean Pierre Purry had begun to arrive here, and by August of the next year 260 Swiss had settled at Purrysburg Township. Each settler was provided with a specific amount of land, tools, livestock, and provisions by the Royal Assembly.