Elko is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

Houston County, Georgia Houston County ( ) is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. The population was 163,633 at the 2020 census. Its county seat is Perry; the city of Warner Robins is substantially larger in both area and populati ...

, United States, south of the city of

Perry Perry or pear cider is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally in England (particularly Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire), parts of South Wales, France (especially Normandy and Anjou), Canada, Austral ...

. 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.

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. The Norfolk loamy sand soil which underlies the settlement and most of its surrounding area is considered to be some of the best agricultural land in Houston County. 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.Bobbe Smith Hickson, ''A Land So Dedicated: Houston County, Georgia'' ( erry, Ga. Houston County Library Board, 1977), 145-7, 162-5. The railroad depot was the center of business and social life in Elko, and crowds greeted the daily trains that ran from

Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. Situated near the Atlantic Seaboard fall line, fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is southeast of Atlanta and near the ...

through

Valdosta, Georgia Valdosta is a city in and the county seat of Lowndes County, Georgia, Lowndes County in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As the principal city of the Valdosta Metropolitan Statistical Area, Valdosta metropolitan statistical area, ...

Palatka, Florida Palatka () is a city in and the county seat of Putnam County, Florida, Putnam County, Florida, United States. Palatka is the principal city of the Palatka Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is home to 72,893 residents. The Palatka micropolitan ...

. 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 Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...

. 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.

Decline

The

boll weevil The boll weevil (''Anthonomus grandis'') is a species of beetle in the family Curculionidae. The boll weevil feeds on cotton buds and flowers. Thought to be native to Central Mexico, it migrated into the United States from Mexico in the late 19 ...

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. 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 A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

, remained open in Elko.

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. Other railroad towns named "Elko" exist in the American states of

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

and

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

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 Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

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 combination fire department. The town's churches hold both weekly and monthly services, with some residents attending more than one church on alternating Sundays.

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Houston County, Georgia Unincorporated communities in Georgia (U.S. state)