The school at Apalachee still stands and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places

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

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 the Depression of 1929 and 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

  1. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Apalachee, Georgia
  2. 1 2 "Apalachee Historical Marker". www.hmdb.org. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Apalachee School National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. National Park Service. 20 April 2000.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Henry F. Saxon. "Prosperous Towns around Athens: Apalachee, Ga." The Weekly Banner. 29 July 1921. p. 1. OCLC 20266548
  5. 1 2 "Morgan County". Jim Forte Postal History. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  6. 1 2 Krakow, Kenneth K. (1975). Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins (PDF). Macon, GA: Winship Press. p. 6. ISBN 0-915430-00-2.
  7. ↑ Candler, Allen Daniel; Evans, Clement Anselm (1906). Georgia: Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons. State historical association. p. 68.
  8. ↑ Acts and Resolutions of the General Assembly of the State of Georgia. State printer. 1907. p. 401.
  9. ↑ "Apalachee - Ghost Town". www.ghosttowns.com. Retrieved February 27, 2023.

33°41′11″N 83°25′52″W / 33.68639°N 83.43111°W / 33.68639; -83.43111


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