Elko, Georgia

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.[1][2] 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.[3]

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.[3]

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.[3]

The origin of the name "Elko" is unknown, but it is believed to have been bestowed by the GS&F railroad company in 1889.[3] Other railroad towns named "Elko" exist in the American states of Nevada and South Carolina.

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