Elkmont, Alabama / Tenn. & Ala. Central Railroad
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The earliest settlers to this area moved across the Chickasaw boundary before 1810 and established the Sims and New Garden settlements. The area came to be known as Elkmont, for the once abundant elk, the Elk River and the "mount" on which it sat. It began to flourish with the completion of the Tennessee and Alabama Central Railroad in 1859. The name of the Fort Hampton post office, established in 1859, was changed to Elkmont in 1866. Elkmont grew to be a commerce center for North Limestone County and was incorporated on March 28, 1873. The first high school in Limestone County was established here in 1912. Today, Elkmont's converted railroad bed welcomes visitors to connect with the past as it passes through a Civil War battle site to the south and a covered bridge to the north.
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The Tennessee and Alabama Central Railroad reached Elkmont in the fall of 1859. By 1862, the Union army controlled North Alabama and the railroad, an important supply line from Nashville to Chattanooga and Atlanta. 1.1 miles south of this spot is the site of one of the bloodiest land battles in Alabama at Sulphur Creek Trestle, part of the Sept. 1864 raids of C.S.A. General N.B. Forrest. The rail line became the Nashville & Decatur Railroad in 1866. The Louisville & Nashville Railroad had control by 1871, and in 187, built the existing depot. The L&N served this area many years, bringing perishable goods, mail, providing transportation and export of cotton. L&N became part of the seaboard system in 1982. The line was abandoned in April 1986.
Marker is on County Road 49 east of Railroad Street, on the left when traveling east.
Courtesy hmdb.org
