Apalachee is a tiny spot I have passed for years. When we picked up this load of lumber from our friend, I had no idea that this was once a very busy place. The home that the lumber was reclaimed from sat on Shockley Road. That farmhouse was torn down over twenty years ago. The lumber lived many decades in a barn in neighboring Oconee County. The name Apalachee can be traced back to the Creek who once thrived in Georgia. The town was officially established in 1907 but had been in existence long before that time. Settled around 1820, the area is thought to be the oldest community in Morgan County.
By 1888, The Central Railroad arrived in town. In 1907, John Bostwick a UGA graduate born in Morgan County brought a second rail through Apalachee for cotton transportation. The school which still stands was also built in the early 1900’s. By the 1920’s the town of Apalachee had 2 mercantile stores, a cotton gin, cotton oil refinery, and a seed house. There were also several cultural societies, including a glee club and a literary club. Slowly the population dwindled with the effects of World War I and the drop in the price of cotton. In the 1950’s, the post office was closed. Now, the loudest thing in Apalachee is the river.
*John Bostwick was a UGA graduate who was born in Morgan County. He was the founder of Bostwick, a community just down the road from Apalachee. Mr. Bostwick purchased land and opened business after business to help create a very productive town. By 1920 it boasted two cotton gins, a cotton seed oil mill, a depot and train station, a bank, a doctor, a hotel and multiple gas stations. World War I and its effect on the economy along with the bollweevil and a sharp decline in the price of cotton forced Bostwick to sell off parts of his fortune.