Alapaha, Georgia

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Alapaha, Georgia
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settlement_type = Town
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map_caption = Location in Berrien County and the state of Georgia


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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = Georgia
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Berrien
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area_total_km2 = 2.6
area_land_km2 = 2.6
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area_total_sq_mi = 1
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population_total = 682
population_density_km2 = 262.3
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timezone = Eastern (EST)
utc_offset = -5
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latd = 31 |latm = 22 |lats = 56 |latNS = N
longd = 83 |longm = 13 |longs = 26 |longEW = W
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elevation_m = 87
elevation_ft = 285
postal_code_type = ZIP code
postal_code = 31622
area_code = 229
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 13-01024GR|2
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 0331009GR|3
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Alapaha is a town in Berrien County, Georgia, along the Alapaha River. The population was 682 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Alapaha is located at coor dms|31|22|56|N|83|13|26|W|city (31.382148, -83.223952).GR|1

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.0 square miles (2.6 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 682 people, 270 households, and 194 families residing in the town. The population density was 684.5 people per square mile (263.3/km²). There were 318 housing units at an average density of 319.2/sq mi (122.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 36.36% White, 62.76% African American, 0.15% Native American, and 0.73% from two or more races.

There were 270 households out of which 34.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.7% were married couples living together, 24.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.1% were non-families. 24.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.05.

In the town the population was spread out with 27.7% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 23.6% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 86.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $22,422, and the median income for a family was $27,679. Males had a median income of $26,250 versus $18,800 for females. The per capita income for the town was $11,925. About 21.5% of families and 21.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.6% of those under age 18 and 33.3% of those age 65 or over.

Historical Notes

Indian Presence and Early Settlement
*The Hernando de Soto expedition narrative records mention a "Yupaha" village they encountered after they left Apalachee, "the sound of which is suggestive of the Alapaha, a tributary of the Suwanee," [George Ransford Fairbanks, "History of Florida from its discovery by Ponce de Leon, in 1512 to the close of the Florida War in 1842". Philadelphia: J.P. Lippincott & Co., 1871, p. 60.] Another reference to a village of "Atapaha" "so closely resembles Alapaha that it is reasonable to suppose they are the same, and that the town was on the river of that name." [Fairbanks, p. 76.] John Reed Swanton's landmark "Indian Tribes of North America" places the Indian village of Alapaha near where the Alapaha River met the Suwanee, and also noted that an Indian village of "Arapaja" was 70 leagues from St. Augustine, Florida, probably on the Alapaha River. [John Reed Swanton, "Indian Tribes of North America", p. 147.]
*The name "Alapaha," was included, along with hundreds of Native American words, in mid-nineteenth-century pronunciation guides as both a river and a "village." Even then, opinions differed as to the proper pronunciation of the word, whether it was "A-LAP-Uh-ha," or "A-LAP-uh-haw." [Elias Longley, "Pronouncing Vocabulary of Geographical and Personal Names", Cincinnati, Longley Bros., 1857. See also "Lippincott's Pronouncing Gazeteer", Philadelphia, J.B. Lippincott & Co., 1856.] These guides offer no speculation as to the word's meaning. There were many variant names, pronunciations, and spellings of the Alapaha River operant in the late 1800s. Some ethnologists believe that "Alapaha" was the Creek word for "other side"; others believe it was the word Timucuan Indians used for "bear." [ [http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-2295 New Georgia Encyclopedia: Berrien County ] ] At least one ethnolinguist believed that "Alapaha" is a Creek "adaptation" of the Timucuan word "Arapaha" which meant "bear lodge." [William A. Read, "Indian Stream Names," "International Journal of American Linguistics", University of Chicago, 1949, p. 128.] Yet another theory posits that it was the Seminoles who changed the pronunciation from Timucuan to "Alapaha," since their alphabet did not contain an "r" sound. [John H. Hann, "A History of the Timucua Indians and Missions", Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 1996, p. 3.]
*Alapaha developed from a trade settlement on the site of a Seminole village with the same name. The current town of Lakeland, Georgia, was originally named "Alapaha" and existed before the town that now bears the name. [Ken Krakow, "Place Names of Georgia", Winship Press, 1975.]
* In the 1840s a German travel writer, Friedrich Gerstäcker wrote a dime novel called "Alapaha, or the Renegades of the Border", giving the name to a noble Cherokee "squaw." A translation of this novel was published in the 1870s as #67 in a series of American narratives published by Beadle. [ [http://www.worldcatlibraries.org/wcpa/top3mset/6612400 Alapaha, the squaw or, The renegades of the border [WorldCat.org ] ]
* Movement of migratory Indians is believed to have ended with the U.S. cessions of 1819-20. [Ann Patton Malone, "Piney Woods Farmers of South Georgia, 1850-1900: Jeffersonian Yeomen in an Age of Expanding Commercialism," "Agricultural History", vol. 60, No. 4, Fall 1986] However, an 1836 account in the Hartford, Connecticut "Courant" describes "gangs" of 50 or more Indians roaming as close as Tallahassee, "west of the Alapaha," looting the houses of settlers, asserting that "all the country South is in possession of the Indians." ["From the Jacksonville "Courier"," "Connecticut Courant", Sept. 19, 1836.]
*The Smithsonian Institution documented the presence of an Indian mound at Alapaha in 1886:"The Alapaha mound is situated convert|5|mi|km northeast of the town of Alapaha, on Alapaha River, on lot of land No. 328, fifth district of Berrien County, Georgia. It is convert|38|ft|m across, convert|6|ft|m above the level, and somewhat oval in shape. In the center of the mound was a burial vault convert|6|ft|m deep, convert|3|ft|m wide, and convert|6|ft|m long, north and south. Two bodies were deposited in this vault with the heads pointing south." It is possible that these remains became part of the Smithsonian collection, as was typical of its archaeological expeditions at the time. [William J. Taylor, "Mounds in Berrien County,Georgia," "Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution", Washington: Holyell Press, 1886, p. 57-58.] This source also gives the location and contents of two other Berrien County mounds south of Nashville, the Withlacoochee mound, and the French Ferry mound. The information was supplied by "William J. Taylor, of Alapaha."
*Early settlers were primarily Highland Scots Methodist or Primitive Baptist, representing two socio-economic classes, "Jeffersonian yeomen" and a "squirearchy," two distinct divisions of landed farmers created by the Georgia Land Lottery of 1820. Between 1820 and 1840, agriculture was principally herding (sheep and cattle). [Malone, p. ] With the advent of railroad expansion in the 1830s a sizeable population of Irish Catholic laborers settled in and around the lower Alapaha River, eventually leading to the establishment of St. Anne's Catholic church there. [Mark V. Wetherington, "Plain Folks' Fight: The Civil War and Reconstruction in Piney Woods Georgia". Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press, 2005, p. 41] Brushy Creek Primitive Baptist Church, originally in Irwin County, figured prominently in local affairs up to and after the Civil War. The Primitive Baptists often opposed the Methodist programme of "benevolence" toward less fortunate citizens. [Wetherington, p. 63]
*In 1854, Alapaha was listed as the terminus of a "post road" that extended "from Alapaha, by Driver's Hill, and Troublesome, to Jasper, Florida." ["Revised Statutes of the United States, Relating to the Department of Commerce and Post Roads," 1873-1874.] By 1855 it was listed as a post office in the "Harper's Statistical Gazetteer" of the World. Early railroad maps refer to it as "Alapaha Station."

Boom Years

*The 1880s and 1890s brought an agricultural/industrial boom in forestry, timber, and naval stores. [Malone, p.] There were several sawmills in Alapaha by 1880, including "Alapaha Steam Saw Mills, established 16 years" which ran a weekly advertisement in the "New York Times", boasting that Sloat, Bussell, & Co. were prepared to ship from Savannah or Brunswick "a Superior Article of Long leaf, close-grained, untapped Georgia Pitch Pine," guaranteed never to have been "injured" by turpentine extraction. ["Alapaha Steam Saw Mills, "New York Times", May 19, 1880,p. 7.] Alapaha Steam Saw Mills listed its business addresses as 116 Wall Street, New York City, and 76 Bay Street, Savannah.
*Alapaha was incorporated in 1881 by an act (Law #433) of the General Assembly of the Georgia legislature. That act set forth the framework for its municipal government, specifying that there be a mayor, aldermen, regular elections, taxes, licensing of "ten-pin alleys, billiard and pool tables, and other establishments calculated to encourage idleness" as well as "spiritous liquors." The corporate limits of the town were set at a quarter-mile from the junction of Main and Center streets in every direction. [TOWN OF ALAPAHA INCORPORATED,"Acts and Resolutions of the General Assembly of the State of Georgia."1880-81. Law#433. Vol. I, p. 484. ] In its entire history, the town has only grown 3/4 of a square mile, despite early efforts to promote it for development.
* Also in 1881, Alapaha received prominent mention in a promotional pamphlet on the excellence of economic opportunity in South Georgia. The pamphlet was published "under the auspices" of the Savannah, Florida, and Western Railroad, the Brunswick and Albany Railroad, and the Macon & Brunswick Railroad, for the benefit of "Timber Men, Lumber Manufacturers, Fruit Growers, Vegetable Growers, Tourists, Invalids, Pleasure Seekers, Travellers, Parties Seeking New Homes, --and--All Who Desire To Better Their Condition." It devoted significant space to Alapaha, calling it "an important wool market," and "a lively and business-like little village," with "six stores with mixed stocks, and three bar-rooms." Its aggregate annual sales reached $100,000, and it had "two physicians, two lawyers, and one dentist" and "a sprightly newspaper." Calling it a "land of promise," the anonymous writer (probably a Mr. Lastinger who was the newspaper editor) wrote, "Bee culture is also carried on; the honey is as rich as that from California." [Joseph Tillman, ed. "Southern Georgia: A Pamphlet", Savannah Times Steam Printing Service, 1881, "passim" ]
*In the spring of 1897, a catastrophic fire destroyed four uninsured buildings in the dowtown section of Alapaha. The "Macon Telegraph" reported that a bucket brigade of both black and white citizens worked to save the buildings which had begun to burn after midnight. Lost were a store belonging to H.B. Young, a sewing machine repair business belonging to "Mr. Norton" who managed to save his tools and materials, a two-story building owned by J.H. Baker, an old livery stable run by J.S. Turner, and a "storehouse" managed by W.S. Walker that contained convert|39|oilbbl|m3 of wine, an iron safe, and books and papers. Two of the buildings were owned by a "T. Cook." The paper reported that "The cause of the fire is not known, but the general opinion is that some one must have set it on fire." ["Fire in Alapaha," "Macon Telegraph", April 13, 1897, col E. ] 20th Century and Later
*The 1907 roster of the Georgia Medical Association list two physicians from Alapaha, W.A. Moore, and G.A. Paulk. [Georgia Medical Association, "Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Georgia Medical Association", p. 479.]
* Alapaha was the site of a famous Atlantic Coast Line Railroad train wreck on March 26, 1911, when the Dixie Flyer derailed on a high trestle across the Alapaha River, killing ten and injuring many, including wealthy Northern socialites who were traveling to the coast. ["10 Dead in Dixie Flyer Wreck," "New York Times", March 27, 1911]
*On December 30, 1914, a patent application for a "portable shower-bath" with a detailed diagram was submitted by inventor Robert Alex Rutland of Alapaha, and witnessed by E.F. Tiller and W.M. Gaskins, local entrepreneurs. The patent was granted by the U.S. Patent Office on July 20, 1915. ["Portable Shower-Bath," U.S. Patent Office, #1,147,648, July 20, 1915.]
* On July 4, 1918, the "Alapaha" , a wooden paddle-wheeler cargo ship whose dead-weight tonnage was 3,500, registered in Cornwells Heights, Pennsylvania, was christened and launched. ["List of 94 Steel and Wooden Ships That Will Be Launched in America Today," "New York Times", July 4, 1918, p. 11]
* Alapaha lost four men (of 25 total from Berrien County) in the infamous "Otranto" troopship disaster off the coast of Scotland, eight weeks before the Armistice ended WWI. Their names and hometowns were published among 200 dead in the "New York Times" coverage. Their names were James Malcolm McMillan, Arthur Harper, William Hayes, and B.F. McCranie. ["Identifies 200 Men Lost on the Otranto," "New York Times", October 28, 1918.]
* On 11 May 1952, the town again was in the national headlines after a devastating tornado. The business area of the town was decimated, and the school was destroyed. The water tower was smashed, so portable water tanks were brought in. The Red Cross set up field operations, bringing in a director from Moody Air Force Base, and a mobile kitchen from Fort Benning. ["Twisters Return, Killing 4 in South," "New York Times", May 12, 1952, p. 14. ] An elderly man, Artemus Elliot, was injured by a falling tree.
* A breed of bulldog, the Alapaha Blue Blood Bulldog was developed from the famed Paulk plantation dogs of the area. [www.canadasguidetodogs.com/alapaha.htm]
*In 1963, the U.S. Department of Labor won a lawsuit, "Wirtz v. Alapaha Yellow Pine Products", Inc., against a locally-owned sawmill. At issue were Fair Labor Act violations concerning overtime pay. The case became a minor landmark in labor litigation history; the case is frequently cited as a precedent for denying defendants in similar suits to have their cases heard by a jury. [Wirtz v. Alapaha Yellow Pine Products, Inc. 217 F.Supp. 465 (1963).]
*On October 3, 1966, Army Master Sgt. James Emory Jones of Alapaha, one of the first members of the elite Military Assistance Command, Vietnam Studies and Observations Group (MAC-SOG), a black-operations unit of the Vietnam War, was killed in a secret attempt to wire-tap North Vietnamese communications lines in Laos. The existence of this secret unit was concealed for many years, as well as its operations outside borders of Vietnam. Jones's entire three-man commando unit was lost; evidence suggests that the unit requested U.S. bombers fire upon its coordinates when they knew they could not escape ambush. [John L. Plaster, "The Secret Wars of America's Commandos in Vietnam". New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997, p.56-57.] Jones's fate and place of death was kept secret for many years, and he was listed as "missing in action" for over two decades.
* The Alapaha blueberry is a patented "rabbiteye" blueberry type named for the Alapaha River, and tested at Alapaha. Its berries are medium in size and have excellent firmness, color and flavor. The outstanding characteristics of Alapaha include late flowering with early ripening and vigorous plants that produce high yields of excellent quality fruit. It is a protected blueberry variety that can only be sold by individuals licensed by the Georgia Seed Development Commission (GSDC) under guidelines established in conjunction with the University of Georgia Research Foundation. [ [http://www.gsdc.com/ALAPAHA.html Gsdc Alapaha Blueberry ] ]
* The 1996 novel "The Wonder Book of the Air" by Cynthia Shearer is set in Alapaha and includes much of the town history. ["New York Times Book Review", March 12, 1996]
* Just outside the town is the site where the famous "Hogzilla", a "wild" hog weighing in at about 800 pounds, was shot on 17 June 2004 on a commercial hunting farm. The carcass of the hog was exhumed for a National Geographic special. ["New York Times", May 8, 2005.]
*Alapaha's city hall is located in the former depot that once served the Brunswick and Albany Railroad, the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, and the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad.

References

External links

* [http://www.segardc.org/Governments/Berrien/Alapaha/alapaha.htm | Census Data]