Claxton is a city in
Evans County,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
, United States. The population was 2,602 in 2020. It is the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
of Evans County.
History
The town had its visionary, W.R. Hendricks.
In May 1890 there were only a couple of dwellings scattered around the area that is Claxton. Hendricks, son of Glenn and Nancy Hendricks, had been given a large tract of land by his parents. The Hendricks's ambition was to secure a railroad station at the site, but they met considerable opposition from railroad company officials who maintained that existing stations in the area were sufficient to meet the needs. W.R. Hendricks made a proposition to railroad officials that a well be dug and pump installed free of charge so that trains could stop for water.
[ The deal was made and actual construction began in the latter part of June 1890. The vision of building a town was fully supported by Hendricks's mother, who offered to give a lot to anyone who would erect a building upon it. A number of people accepted her offer, so she revised the plan and proposed to sell one lot and give an adjoining parcel to ones who desired to build.
With the establishment of a town well underway, efforts were begun to establish a post office at the settlement already widely known as "Hendricks". Postal officials in Washington, D.C., upon receiving an application from George E. Wood, declined to approve the name, because a post office in the state was already operating under that name in Upson County.][Helbock, Richard W. (2007) ''United States Post Offices, Volume VIII - The Southeast'', p. 58, Scappoose, Oregon: La Posta Publications] Two other names were then submitted, "Jenny" and "Claxton". Postal officials agreed to Claxton, and the post office opened in 1890.
There is some dispute about the origin of the name. Some local historians contend that the name of a popular actress, Kate Claxton, was the source, while others believe it was in honor of Philander Priestly Claxton, a noted educator of the time.
Shortly after the Claxton post office opened, D.C. Newton, one of the partners in a naval stores
Naval stores refers to the industry that produces various chemicals collected from conifers. The term was originally applied to the compounds used in building and maintaining wooden sailing ships. Presently, the naval stores industry are used to ...
company, laid out on a sheet of brown wrapping paper what became the original map of Claxton. Newton drew in the streets, laid out lots and later added street names. The whereabouts of the original map is not known; however, it is believed that this first map remained in his possession until his death and was passed down to his son who died in the 1990s. Another map, believed to be similar to the original, was in the possession of R.R. "Bobby" Tippins, president of Tippins Bank and Trust Company and descendant of the family who founded the bank in Claxton; he died in the 2000s.
Geography
Claxton is located at the center of Evans County at (32.160932, -81.908674). It is bordered to the west by the city of Hagan. U.S. Routes 280 and 301 intersect in the center of town; US 280 leads east to Savannah
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...
and west to Vidalia, while US 301 leads north to Statesboro and south to Jesup.
According to the United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, Claxton has a total area of , of which , or 0.84%, is water. The city is in the coastal plain
A coastal plain (also coastal plains, coastal lowland, coastal lowlands) is an area of flat, low-lying land adjacent to a sea coast. A fall line commonly marks the border between a coastal plain and an upland area.
Formation
Coastal plains can f ...
region of Georgia. Several types of tree, including pine
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae.
''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...
, oak
An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...
, sycamore
Sycamore is a name which has been applied to several types of trees, but with somewhat similar leaf forms. The name derives from the Ancient Greek () meaning .
Species of otherwise unrelated trees known as sycamore:
* ''Acer pseudoplatanus'', a ...
, chinaberry, live oak
Live oak or evergreen oak is any of a number of oaks in several different sections of the genus ''Quercus'' that share the characteristic of evergreen foliage. These oaks are generally not more closely related to each other than they are to o ...
, sweetgum
''Liquidambar'', commonly called sweetgum (star gum in the UK), gum, redgum, satin-walnut, styrax or American storax, is the only genus in the flowering plant family Altingiaceae and has 15 species. They were formerly often treated as a part of ...
, and poplar are prevalent in the area.
Climate
Claxton has a humid subtropical climate according to the Köppen classification Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
. It has hot and humid summers with average highs of 94 and lows of 70 in July. Winters are mild with average January highs of 61 and lows of 36. Winter storms are occasional.
Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,602 people, 908 households, and 660 families residing in the city.
Government
Claxton is governed by a mayor and city council. The mayor is elected at large, while the seven member council is elected by district. Other officials in the city include the city manager, city attorney, police chief, street superintendent, public works director, personnel director, finance officer, purchasing agent, code enforcer, fire chief, municipal court judge, municipal court clerk, zoning administrator, gas superintendent, and water superintendent.
Education
Public education in Claxton is supervised by the Evans County School District. The current superintendent is Dr. Marty Waters.
All schools have been fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is a regional educational accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. As of 2022, the organization oversees ap ...
as well as the Georgia Accrediting Commission. The public schools in Claxton are Claxton Elementary School, Claxton Middle School, and Claxton High School.
Pinewood Christian Academy was founded in Bellville, Georgia, in 1970. It serves Pre-K4 through 12th grade.
Claxton Fruit Cake
The city is known as the home of the Claxton Fruit Cake which is exported from the Claxton Bakery and the Georgia Fruitcake Company. (See fruitcake
Fruitcake or fruit cake is a cake made with Candied fruit, candied or dried fruit, Nut (fruit), nuts, and spices, and optionally soaked in liquor, spirits. In the United Kingdom, certain rich versions may be iced and Cake decorating, decorated. ...
.)
Media
Claxton and Evans County are well served by locally owned and operated radio and newspaper. WCLA Radio broadcasts on 93.7 FM and on 1470 AM. WCLA was known for years as the "World's Only Drive-In Radio Station" as it was based in the large screen of Claxton's Tos Drive-In Theatre. ''Claxton Enterprise'' has been published since 1912, before the creation of Evans County. Local cable television service is provided by Comcast Xfinity. WLFH-FM (88.9) and WMCD-FM (107.3), while legally licensed to Claxton by the Federal Communications Commission, have offices or studios outside Evans County: WLFH-FM is based in Savannah and WMCD-FM in Statesboro.
Claxton meteorite
On December 10, 1984, a meteorite
A meteorite is a rock (geology), rock that originated in outer space and has fallen to the surface of a planet or Natural satellite, moon. When the original object enters the atmosphere, various factors such as friction, pressure, and chemical ...
fell in Claxton and hit a mailbox. The mailbox sold for $83,000 because it is said to be the only mailbox a meteorite has struck. The meteorite was classified
Classified may refer to:
General
*Classified information, material that a government body deems to be sensitive
*Classified advertising or "classifieds"
Music
*Classified (rapper) (born 1977), Canadian rapper
* The Classified, a 1980s American ro ...
as an L6.
Notable people
* Curtis G. Hames, heart specialist known for discovering cause of heart attacks in soil of coastal Georgia
* Joe Odom, musician, featured in ''Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
''Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil'' is a non-fiction novel by John Berendt. The book, Berendt's first, was published on January 10, 1994, and follows the story of Jim Williams, an antiques dealer on trial for the killing of Danny Hansf ...
''
References
External links
''Claxton Enterprise''
local newspaper
Claxton-Evans County Chamber of Commerce
Claxton Fruit Cake Company
Claxton First United Methodist Church
historical marker
{{authority control
Cities in Georgia (U.S. state)
Cities in Evans County, Georgia
County seats in Georgia (U.S. state)
Populated places established in 1890
1890 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)