Place:Uptonville, Charlton, Georgia, United States

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

Uptonville is an inhabited place.

Research Tips

Uptonville, Georgia was named for Ben Upton's sawmill which was located along the S.F.& W. R.R. (Savannah Florida & Western Railroad) in Charlton County, Georgia. Benjamin Upton was the first child of Asa and Elizabeth Upton born May 26, 1833 in Warren County, GA. Court records show that Ben Upton purchased the property in 1886.

Ben Upton and Burton Dyal of Nassau County had formed the partnership of Dyal & Upton and appear to be very successful in the lumbering business in North Florida and South Georgia. Webb's Jacksonville Directories 1886-1890, show Ben Upton's business at Waycross lumber wharf B. [Brooklyn] and his residence in Wainwright, Georgia (later changed to Uptonville).

The town of Uptonville can be found on an 1895 map of Charlton County, Georgia, located alongside the S.F.& W. R.R. just north of Folkston. An 1899 map of the area shows the town as Wainwright with Uptonville Sta. in parentheses. To view these maps go to http://www.cviog.uga.edu/projects/gainfo/histcountymaps and search Charlton County for the years listed.

Alex S. McQueen in the History of Charlton County, 1978, pgs. 77-78, writes: "The Savannah, Florida & Western... was constructed through Charlton county and several small towns sprang up along the railroad....Uptonville was for several years a thriving little town. There was a large sawmill and turpentine plant there after the coming of the railroad, and it was for a number of years an incorporated town. Its close proximity to Folkston caused it to gradually decline and is now only a flag-station on the A.C.L.Ry.

The town charter was never legally abolished and the citizens of the community just agreed among themselves that the town would cease to function as a municipality."

For more information on the History of Uptonville visit http://www.okefenokeepress.com/UPTONVILLE.html