Elko, Georgia

Last updated
Elko, Georgia
Unincorporated community
USA Georgia location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Elko
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Elko
Coordinates: 32°19′52″N83°42′23″W / 32.33111°N 83.70639°W / 32.33111; -83.70639 Coordinates: 32°19′52″N83°42′23″W / 32.33111°N 83.70639°W / 32.33111; -83.70639
Country United States
State Georgia
County Houston

Elko is an unincorporated community in Houston County, Georgia, United States, south of the city of Perry. Founded circa 1890 as a railroad town, Elko prospered in the early 1900s as a local depot and trading center for cotton planters in southern Houston County.

Houston County, Georgia County in the United States

Houston County is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. The estimated 2016 population is 152,122. Its county seat is Perry, although the city of Warner Robins is substantially larger in both area and population.

Perry, Georgia City in Georgia, United States

Perry is a city in Houston and Peach counties in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the county seat of Houston County. The population was 13,839 at the 2010 census, up from 9,602 at the 2000 census. As of 2015 the estimated population was 15,457. It is part of the Warner Robins, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area, within the Macon–Bibb County–Warner Robins Combined Statistical Area.

Contents

History

The district around Elko, called the Old Thirteenth Georgia Military District, had been devoted mainly to cotton farming since Houston County was established in the 1820s. By spring 1888 the Georgia Southern and Florida Railroad (or GS&F) completed a line through Houston County. In the southern part of the county, the railroad passed near two older farm communities called Hickory Grove and Spoonville. The GS&F Railroad sold land lots for a new town with a railroad depot. The community was first called "Elko" in 1889. The town of Elko was incorporated in 1891 with an elected mayor-council government. [1]

The railroad depot was the center of business and social life in Elko, and crowds greeted the daily trains that ran from Macon, Georgia through Valdosta, Georgia to Palatka, Florida. Regular passenger service began in March 1890. The line was acquired by the Southern Railway in 1895. Because of the railroad, Elko residents could go shopping in Macon and return home the same evening. They could also travel overnight to Florida and visit the resorts at St. Augustine. [1]

Macon, Georgia Consolidated city–county in Georgia, United States

Macon, officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county located in the state of Georgia, United States. Macon lies near the geographic center of the state, approximately 85 miles (137 km) south of Atlanta, hence the city's nickname "The Heart of Georgia."

Valdosta, Georgia City in Georgia, United States

Valdosta is a city in and the county seat of Lowndes County, located on the southern border of Georgia, United States. As of 2013, Valdosta has a total population of 56,481, and is the 14th largest city in Georgia.

Palatka, Florida City in Florida, United States

Palatka is a city in Putnam County, Florida, United States. The population was 10,558 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Putnam County. Palatka is the principal city of the Palatka Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is home to 72,893 residents. The city is also home to St. Johns River State College, St. Johns River Water Management District Headquarters, and Ravine Gardens State Park. The area is well known for its local festivals, most notably the Florida Azalea Festival and the Blue Crab Festival.

In 1900 the town's population was estimated at 500. A newspaper, The Elkonian, appeared in 1899. The Bank of Elko was founded in 1900. [1]

Decline

The boll weevil blight had a devastating effect on the town's commerce. The Bank of Elko soon liquidated its assets and closed, followed by many other businesses in Elko. Local farmers switched to peach crops, and Elko citizens built a peach packing shed, but the town never recovered its former prosperity. In 1915 or afterward, a fire caused by cinders from a locomotive smokestack burned down Elko's remaining stores. Scheduled passenger service to Elko ended in 1930. [1]

Boll weevil species of insect

The boll weevil is a beetle which feeds on cotton buds and flowers. Thought to be native to Central Mexico, it migrated into the United States from Mexico in the late 19th century and had infested all U.S. cotton-growing areas by the 1920s, devastating the industry and the people working in the American South. During the late 20th century, it became a serious pest in South America as well. Since 1978, the Boll Weevil Eradication Program in the U.S. allowed full-scale cultivation to resume in many regions.

The town's last mayor was Joe Norton "Nick" Buff. In the latter half of the twentieth century only Paul Davis' general store, which doubled as the town's post office, remained open in Elko. [1]

A post office is a public department that provides a customer service to the public and handles their mail needs. Post offices offer mail-related services such as acceptance of letters and parcels; provision of post office boxes; and sale of postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. In addition, many post offices offer additional services: providing and accepting government forms, processing government services and fees, and banking services. The chief administrator of a post office is called a postmaster.

Origin of the name

The origin of the name "Elko" is unknown, but it is believed to have been bestowed by the GS&F railroad company in 1889. [1] Other railroad towns named "Elko" exist in the American states of Nevada and South Carolina.

Present-day Elko

With the demise of railroad passenger service, Elko became more isolated in the latter half of the twentieth century than it had been in the 1890s, and the population declined. Elko's residential district, with its Victorian houses shaded by oak and pecan trees, attracts some residents who commute to nearby cities. As an unincorporated community, Elko is governed by the Houston County Board of Commissioners and protected by county sheriff's patrols and a volunteer fire department. The town's churches hold monthly services, with some residents attending more than one church on alternating Sundays.

Related Research Articles

Crawford County, Georgia County in the United States

Crawford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 12,630. The county seat is Knoxville.

Warner Robins, Georgia City in Georgia, United States

Warner Robins is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located in Houston County in the central part of the state. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 66,588. From 2000 to 2010, the Warner Robins city population grew by 36.4%.

Elko, Nevada City in Nevada, United States

Elko is the largest city in and county seat of Elko County, Nevada, United States. The population was 18,297 at the 2010 census. The city straddles the Humboldt River.

Troupville, Georgia Unincorporated community in Georgia, United States

Troupville is an unincorporated community in Lowndes County, Georgia, United States, near Valdosta. Troupville was a riverboat landing at the confluence of the Withlacoochee River and the Little River at the uppermost navigable point. It was the third county seat of Lowndes County. Troupville was named after Governor George Troup.

Southern Railway (U.S.) railway company in the United States, active 1894–1990

The Southern Railway is a name of a class 1 railroad that was based in the Southern United States. The railroad is the product of nearly 150 predecessor lines that were combined, reorganized and recombined beginning in the 1830s, formally becoming the Southern Railway in 1894.

Central of Georgia Railway

The Central of Georgia Railway started as the Central Rail Road and Canal Company in 1833. As a way to better attract investment capital, the railroad changed its name to Central Rail Road and Banking Company of Georgia. This railroad was constructed to join the Macon and Western Railroad at Macon, Georgia, and run to Savannah. This created a rail link from Chattanooga, on the Tennessee River, to seaports on the Atlantic Ocean. It took from 1837 to 1843 to build the railroad from Savannah to the eastern bank of the Ocmulgee River at Macon; a bridge into the city was not built until 1851.

Newport, Wakulla County, Florida Place in Florida, United States

Newport is a small unincorporated community in Wakulla County, Florida, United States of America, situated where U.S. Highway 98 meets State Road 267.

The Georgia Southern and Florida Railway, also known as the Suwanee River Route from its crossing of the Suwanee River, was founded in 1885 as the Georgia Southern and Florida Railroad and began operations between Macon, GA and Valdosta, GA in 1889, extending to Palatka, FL in 1890. The railroad went bankrupt by 1891, was reorganized as the Georgia Southern and Florida Railway in 1895, and was mostly under the control of the Southern Railway.

Currie, Nevada Unincorporated community in Nevada, United States

Currie is an unincorporated community in Elko County, Nevada, United States. It is often considered a ghost town, and its population is around 20.

Terra Ceia, Florida Unincorporated community in Florida, United States

Terra Ceia is an unincorporated community in Manatee County, Florida, United States that includes the 1,932 acres (7.82 km2) Terra Ceia Preserve. It is located on Terra Ceia Island on the Southern shore of Tampa Bay near the intersection of US 19 and I-275, at the southern end of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

Everett, Georgia is a small, rural unincorporated community in Glynn County, Georgia, United States. Robert Hammond Everett (1850-1935) of Brunswick, Georgia, once owned large tracts of timber in the vicinity and operated a lumber and cypress shingle mill near the railroad junction, which was named for him. It was originally chartered as Everett City, Georgia in 1894, but lost its municipality status about ten years later, having failed to grow as hoped.

Central Georgia is the area containing the metropolitan region surrounding the city of Macon, in Bibb County in the U.S. state of Georgia. It abuts the Atlanta metropolitan area, just to the north.

The Georgia Rail Passenger Program (GRPP) is a set of plans, as yet unbuilt, for intercity and commuter rail in the U.S. state of Georgia.

Jutland, New Jersey Unincorporated community in New Jersey, United States

Jutland is an unincorporated community located within Union Township in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States.

Cotton is an unincorporated community located in Mitchell County, United States.

Littig, Texas Unincorporated community in Texas, United States

Littig is a small unincorporated community in eastern Travis County, Texas, United States established in 1883. Littig is on the Southern Pacific line two miles (3 km) south of U.S. Highway 290 and eighteen miles (29 km) northeast of the state capital, Austin, in eastern Travis County. It began with one of the oldest black communities in the state, and now has a diverse population. The Littig Cemetery is located nearby.

Mineral Bluff, Georgia Census-designated place in Georgia, United States

Mineral Bluff is a census-designated place and unincorporated community located in Fannin County in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its population was 150 as of the 2010 census. The community is situated 6 miles (10 km) northeast of the city of Blue Ridge, the county seat, 80 miles (130 km) east of Chattanooga, Tennessee, and 100 miles (160 km) north of Atlanta.

Hampton Depot

Hampton Depot is a historic train station in Hampton, Henry County, Georgia. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Bobbe Smith Hickson, A Land So Dedicated: Houston County, Georgia ([Perry, Ga.]: Houston County Library Board, 1977), 145-7, 162-5.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.