Apalachee, Georgia
Apalachee is an unincorporated settlement in Morgan County, in the U.S. state of Georgia.[1] Apalachee was one of the earliest settlements in Morgan County.[2] It stretches along Lower Apalachee and Parsonage Roads seven miles (10 km) north of the county seat of Madison.
History
[edit]The first settlers arrived in the Apalachee area around 1820, making it one of the oldest communities in Morgan County.[2] Apalachee was first known as Dogsboro (or Dogsborough[3]), a name of unknown origin, in the years before a railroad line was built through the settlement.[4]
In 1888, the Central of Georgia Railway opened a station in the settlement, which was followed by a post office[3] the following year.[5] The station was named Florence, for Florence Few, a daughter of Joe C. Few,[3] one of the first settlers in the area and builder of the town's first store.[4]
Due to the existence of another Florence in Georgia, the town adopted the name of Apalachee around 1896 from the name of the nearby Apalachee River,[3][4] which in turn was named for Apalachee Indians.[6]
By 1900, the community had 47 inhabitants.[7] The Georgia General Assembly incorporated Apalachee as a town in August 1907.[3][4][8]
Apalachee was considered a "prosperous town" in the early 20th century,[4] with prosperity dependent on the transport of cotton.[3] At is peak, the town had cotton gins, cotton seed presses, warehouses, two churches, a pharmacy, a physician, a general store, a Masonic lodge and a broom and handkerchief factory.[3][4]
However, the town was hit hard by losses from the boll weevil and Great Depression that it gradually declined in the latter part of the century.[3] The post office closed in 1957[5] and the town was officially dissolved in 1995[6] along with many other inactive Georgia municipalities. The railroad has been removed. Few buildings still exist today,[9] and most remaining structures are residences on the north side of Parsonage Road. The historic Apalachee School, the white elementary and middle school from 1911 to 1951,[3] remains standing.
References
[edit]- ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Apalachee, Georgia
- ^ a b "Apalachee Historical Marker". www.hmdb.org. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Apalachee School National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. National Park Service. 20 April 2000.
- ^ a b c d e f Henry F. Saxon. "Prosperous Towns around Athens: Apalachee, Ga." The Weekly Banner. 29 July 1921. p. 1. OCLC 20266548
- ^ a b "Morgan County". Jim Forte Postal History. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
- ^ a b Krakow, Kenneth K. (1975). Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins (PDF). Macon, GA: Winship Press. p. 6. ISBN 0-915430-00-2.
- ^ Candler, Allen Daniel; Evans, Clement Anselm (1906). Georgia: Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons. State historical association. p. 68.
- ^ Acts and Resolutions of the General Assembly of the State of Georgia. State printer. 1907. p. 401.
- ^ "Apalachee - Ghost Town". www.ghosttowns.com. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
Municipalities and communities of Morgan County, Georgia, United States | ||
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