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Charlton County Historical Society

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Traders Hill Post Office, c. 1910
Postmaster Porte Crayon Tracy stands in the doorway.

Bachlott Commissary, Folkston, circa 1910

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With the advent of the railroads in the 1830s, a small community known as "The Station" sprung up along the Savannah, Florida and Western Railway route from Waycross to Jacksonville.

It quickly grew to become the town of Folkston and, in 1901, it became the new county seat. Over the years, commerce increased, more settlers arrived and several small villages started up in the county, among them:


Billy’s Island
Camp Cornelia
Camp Pinkney
Centerville
Chesser Island
Coleraine, Kings Ferry
   Sawpit Landing, Leigh Hill

Folkston
Homeland


Moniac
Newell
Racepond
Saint George
Trader's Hill
Uptonville

Winokur

Robert Milledge Charlton was a judge and US Senator from Savannah.

Map of Folkston - 1890

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Photo Galleries of Early Folkston

(Please allow us to scan your old photos of Charlton County for the historical record.)

Link to online digitized copies of the Charlton County Herald, from 1908 to 1929 (and more to come!)

(PDF)

Digests of the Charlton County Herald  1908-1945 
A  month-by-month summary of stories in the  
Charlton County Herald


Index of the Ch
arlton County Herald 1908-1945
A monthly index of the Charlton County Herald by keyword.
 

Archive Documents
Photo albums of archive documents including the following:
1855 Tax Digest
1858 Vigilance Committee
1860 Census
1870 Census
1877-1893 County Commission
1887-1890 Bethel Church RegisterLate 1800s
Superior Court Records
1897-1932
Moniac Justice of the Peace
1913-1928
Voter Registration
1947
Tax Collection
Restaurant LedgerRegister of Posted Lands
Methodist Church Register

Lists of Names
 

1890 - Members, Bethel Episcopal Church

1896 - Voter Lists

1918 - Charlton County Draft Board

1954 - Centennial Donors

Timeline 

A collection of articles, essays, notes, and book excerpts to form a narrative of Charlton County's past

Biographical Sketches

Biographical profiles of Charlton County citizens, printed in various periodicals over the years

Memories of Charlton (PDF) 

by Lois Barefoot Mays
A 36 page eBook: The life story of Madison Gibson as recounted to Lois Barefoot Mays.  Told anecdotally, it is the story of his life beginning in 1895, and continuing through two World Wars and the decades that followed in Charlton County.

Traders Hill Main Street, circa 1920

Circa, 1905

Moniac Depot, early 1900s
 

Racepond Intersection US 1 and HWY 15

Camp Pinckney, 1890s

Palmetto Hotel, Homeland, circa 1910

For more detailed information on the history of the Okefenokee, visit this excellent site, hosted by noted authority and historian Chris Trowell:

https://sites.google.com/view/okefenokee-history/additional-resources

BOOKS AVAILABLE
 

The Charlton County Historical Society offers several books about the area's history for sale:

"History of Charlton County"
by Alexander S. McQueen, 1932

"Charlton County Georgia Historical Notes"
by The Charlton County Historical Commission, 1972

"Settlers of the Okefenokee"
by Lois Barefoot Mays, 1975​

"Queen of the Okefenokee"

by Lois Barefoot Mays and Richard H. Mays

Spring 2022 Issue of Charlton County Historical Society's periodical

"Charlton County History" (click here to download)

 

Interested in becoming a member, or donating to help support Charlton County Historical Society?  

Contact us at charltonhistoryandmore@gmail.com.

Visit our store!

From Our Archive

Folkston circa 1914 

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Roddenberry Hotel

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This was the Folkston Gin and Feed, owned and operated by Albert Wallace Askew in the early days of Folkston. It was located where the County Extension Office (formerly the Health Department building) is today on the Kingsland Highway/HWY 40, across from the old elementary school building.

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