The History of Two Egg, Florida Long before it was named for that most famous of breakfast delicacies, the place that would become Two Egg was at least a spot on a trail. Archaeological discoveries in the area tell us this was once an important hunting and manufacturing center for Native Americans. Artifacts recovered from the fields around Two Egg date back thousands of years to the archaic period, a time when prehistoric hunters roamed the vast woods in search of deer, turkey and other animals, especially buffalo. By the time of the American Revolution, both English and Native American travelers made steady use of paths that crossed the present site of Two Egg as they traveled to and from Ekanachatte (Red Ground) and Perrymans Town, two important Lower Creek villages on the Chattahoochee River. After the First Seminole War of 1817-1818, settlers began to drift down into the upper edges of todays Jackson County. Although Florida still remained Spanish territory, a significant community developed along Spring Creek just north of Campbellton. The nearest frontier outpost where these settlers could obtain supplies was Fort Scott, about ten miles up the Flint River from its confluence with the Chattahoochee on todays Lake Seminole. To open communication with the fort, they chopped a trail down through the forests. After 1820, when Isaac Fort established a plantation at the future Bellamy Bridge site, this path became known as the Fort Road in his honor. The road still passes through Greenwood and Two Egg today. What is now Two Egg was first settled shortly before the War Between the States. Property records indicate that Joseph T. Michaux filed for ownership of the site of Two Egg on July 1, 1857. Alfred S. Knowles filed for the adjoining lands to the east on the same day. Property filings usually reflected that the sites had already been occupied for some time. Although these first settlers did not prosper in their efforts to establish homes at Two Egg, others followed with better success. Slowly a community began to grow at the crossroads. By the early 20th century, a business community began to grow. First there was a general store and then another. The Allison company built a saw mill there and the community soon came to be called Allison in honor of the familys contributions to its grown. The name might have lasted had it not been for the economic disaster of the Great Depression. Money dried up and jobs disappeared. Families struggled to survive and, as local cemeteries attest, hunger, malnutrition and sickness stalked the land. By 1930, many local families were living on little more than pride. Unable to pay for items they needed in hard cash, they began to barter and trade with the storekeepers in Allison for the things they could not do without. The merchants then sold the farm products in larger communities, keeping their own families fed and their businesses alive. It was a difficult time in American history, but it produced the Greatest Generation. And it was the Greatest Generation that gave Two Egg its name. There are several versions of the story, most of them similar in one way or another. many years ran one of the stores in Two Egg, is fairly simple. Two young boys came into the business so often on errands from their mother to trade two eggs for sugar that regulars jokingly began calling the establishment a two egg store. The name, according to Mr. Pittman, caught on and was picked up by traveling salesmen and others who spread it to nearby towns. The story may seem light-hearted on the surface, but at a deeper level it reflects an effort to put a good face on very hard times. Many local families then were barely surviving and at times of the year, when fresh fruits and vegetables were not available, sugar provided one of the only available sources of carbohydrates. Although it is difficult to conceive in todays era of low carb diets, but carbohydrates are a vital necessity of life. They provide the body with energy and help key organs to function. Without them, the listless state easily recognized in people who are under nourished. A little sugar added to the diet each day provided just enough energy to help struggling families make it through to the next day. In other words, two eggs worth of sugar could make the difference between life and death among people already living on the edge of collapse. Times eventually did begin to improve and people soon began to use money again instead of eggs, but the name Two Egg stuck. It appeared on the official highway map of the State of Florida in 1940 and has remained there ever since.
Posted on: Thu, 10 Jul 2014 18:05:17 +0000