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Jackson County, Florida
Historic Sites and Research
Historic Sites and Research
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Two Egg, Florida
It is one of the most unique places, with one of the
most unique names, in the South. For decades,
travelers have smiled at the roadside signs pointing
the way to the small Northwest Florida
community of Two Egg and generations of the
curious have pondered the origin of the small town’
s name.
The word “town,” actually, is bit presumptuous.
Two Egg isn’t really a town. It has no charter or
government. It is a crossroads with a unique name.
And, the unique name aside, its history is really
very similar many other such communities in this
region of Florida.
There is archaeological evidence from a chert
quarry site near Two Egg that early Native
Americans came here to collect chert or flint for use
in making tools. The area’s location on the divide
separating the Chipola and Chattahoochee River
basins, however, limited Native American interest
to quarrying and hunting. Little evidence has been
found here of villages or permanent settlements.
This remoteness from waterways also slowed
settlement of the Two Egg area when early
pioneers entered what became Jackson County
when Florida was transferred from Spain to the
United States. One of the county’s first major
roadways, however, led through the future site of
Two Egg. The old Fort Road, which still bears that
name, stretched from a landing on the
Chattahoochee River to the Fort plantation on the
Chipola. Probably because it followed the route of
an earlier Native American trail, this road was in
use by the early 1820s. In addition to Two Egg, it
passed through Greenwood before winding up at
the Fort plantation. This establishment, one of the
first large farms in the county, was sold to Dr.
Edward C. Bellamy during the 1830s and became
the setting for Jackson County’s well-known
Bellamy Bridge ghost story.
As the richer lands along the Chipola and
Chattahoochee valleys were taken up, settlement
spread out into other areas of the county and by
the mid-1850s several families had established
farms in the area that would eventually become
Two Egg. Among these were the Mott, Knowles,
Cook and Clark families. There is no indication,
though, that they established a central community.
The location became a more important crossroads
by the 1880s when the nearby communities of
Bascom and Dellwood grew. A road leading from
Bascom to Dellwood and on to the railroad at
Grand Ridge passed across the Two Egg site,
intersecting with the Fort Road connecting
Greenwood with the Chattahoochee River. With
this increased activity came business. A sawmill
was established on the site, turning the longleaf
pine that once grew in such profusion across
eastern Jackson County into lumber. At one point
this mill was owned by the Allison brothers and
Two Egg was known, by association, as Allison.
As late as 1930, though, mapmakers for the state
highway department took no notice of the
settlement. It was not until another, more unique,
name finally came into use that Two Egg made the
map.
most unique names, in the South. For decades,
travelers have smiled at the roadside signs pointing
the way to the small Northwest Florida
community of Two Egg and generations of the
curious have pondered the origin of the small town’
s name.
The word “town,” actually, is bit presumptuous.
Two Egg isn’t really a town. It has no charter or
government. It is a crossroads with a unique name.
And, the unique name aside, its history is really
very similar many other such communities in this
region of Florida.
There is archaeological evidence from a chert
quarry site near Two Egg that early Native
Americans came here to collect chert or flint for use
in making tools. The area’s location on the divide
separating the Chipola and Chattahoochee River
basins, however, limited Native American interest
to quarrying and hunting. Little evidence has been
found here of villages or permanent settlements.
This remoteness from waterways also slowed
settlement of the Two Egg area when early
pioneers entered what became Jackson County
when Florida was transferred from Spain to the
United States. One of the county’s first major
roadways, however, led through the future site of
Two Egg. The old Fort Road, which still bears that
name, stretched from a landing on the
Chattahoochee River to the Fort plantation on the
Chipola. Probably because it followed the route of
an earlier Native American trail, this road was in
use by the early 1820s. In addition to Two Egg, it
passed through Greenwood before winding up at
the Fort plantation. This establishment, one of the
first large farms in the county, was sold to Dr.
Edward C. Bellamy during the 1830s and became
the setting for Jackson County’s well-known
Bellamy Bridge ghost story.
As the richer lands along the Chipola and
Chattahoochee valleys were taken up, settlement
spread out into other areas of the county and by
the mid-1850s several families had established
farms in the area that would eventually become
Two Egg. Among these were the Mott, Knowles,
Cook and Clark families. There is no indication,
though, that they established a central community.
The location became a more important crossroads
by the 1880s when the nearby communities of
Bascom and Dellwood grew. A road leading from
Bascom to Dellwood and on to the railroad at
Grand Ridge passed across the Two Egg site,
intersecting with the Fort Road connecting
Greenwood with the Chattahoochee River. With
this increased activity came business. A sawmill
was established on the site, turning the longleaf
pine that once grew in such profusion across
eastern Jackson County into lumber. At one point
this mill was owned by the Allison brothers and
Two Egg was known, by association, as Allison.
As late as 1930, though, mapmakers for the state
highway department took no notice of the
settlement. It was not until another, more unique,
name finally came into use that Two Egg made the
map.
| Two Egg, Florida Generations of travelers have pondered the origin of the name of this unique Jackson County community. |
Not long after the date of this map, in the darkest
days of the Great Depression, a moment of mirth
gave Two Egg, Florida its permanent name. There
are many stories of how this happened, but
virtually all center on the difficulties of doing
business in the community during the Depression
era.
Interviewed a couple of years before his death,
long-time Two Egg businessman John Henry
Pittman told the story as he had heard it from
those involved. During the 1930s, with cash
virtually non-existent in the community, local farm
families still needed supplies so the economy of
the community devolved into a barter system.
People would bring in farm commodities to trade
for what they needed and the store owners in turn
would either sell these commodities to others in the
community or send them on to larger communities
for sale for cash.
According to Pittman, the name “Two Egg” grew
over time rather than in one instant as two little
boys from the community came into the store to
trade for two eggs worth of sugar. They made the
trek for two eggs worth of sugar so often they
began calling the store the "Two Egg Store." The
name caught on and, over time, came to serve the
entire community and not just the store. By 1941,
the designation Two Egg began to appear on state
highway maps.
The unique name has more than once captured the
imagination of the nation. Two Egg has been
featured in Life and National Geographic
magazines, was well as on television game shows,
news reports and in dozens of newspaper articles.
The community still exists today. The old store
buildings still stand at the intersection of State
Highway 69 and County Road 69a, reminders of a
time not so far removed from our own, a time when
life was hard but when people still found enough
humour in their situation to let two forgotten
children name their community.
days of the Great Depression, a moment of mirth
gave Two Egg, Florida its permanent name. There
are many stories of how this happened, but
virtually all center on the difficulties of doing
business in the community during the Depression
era.
Interviewed a couple of years before his death,
long-time Two Egg businessman John Henry
Pittman told the story as he had heard it from
those involved. During the 1930s, with cash
virtually non-existent in the community, local farm
families still needed supplies so the economy of
the community devolved into a barter system.
People would bring in farm commodities to trade
for what they needed and the store owners in turn
would either sell these commodities to others in the
community or send them on to larger communities
for sale for cash.
According to Pittman, the name “Two Egg” grew
over time rather than in one instant as two little
boys from the community came into the store to
trade for two eggs worth of sugar. They made the
trek for two eggs worth of sugar so often they
began calling the store the "Two Egg Store." The
name caught on and, over time, came to serve the
entire community and not just the store. By 1941,
the designation Two Egg began to appear on state
highway maps.
The unique name has more than once captured the
imagination of the nation. Two Egg has been
featured in Life and National Geographic
magazines, was well as on television game shows,
news reports and in dozens of newspaper articles.
The community still exists today. The old store
buildings still stand at the intersection of State
Highway 69 and County Road 69a, reminders of a
time not so far removed from our own, a time when
life was hard but when people still found enough
humour in their situation to let two forgotten
children name their community.
. |
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by Dale Cox
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of the 1864 Battle of
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critically-acclaimed, the book
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Two Egg, Florida
by Dale Cox
by Dale Cox
The hardcover edition of
Two Egg, Florida is now
available. This book is a
collection of stories
behind the stories of
some of Northwest
Florida's favorite ghost
stories, legends and
unusual facts.
$25.00
Two Egg, Florida is now
available. This book is a
collection of stories
behind the stories of
some of Northwest
Florida's favorite ghost
stories, legends and
unusual facts.
$25.00
A history of the battle that
preserved Tallahassee's
status as the only Southern
capital east of the
Mississippi not captured
during the Civil War.
Includes appendices listing
every known soldier who
fought in the battle.
$19.95
preserved Tallahassee's
status as the only Southern
capital east of the
Mississippi not captured
during the Civil War.
Includes appendices listing
every known soldier who
fought in the battle.
$19.95
The Battle of Natural Bridge, Florida
by Dale Cox
by Dale Cox
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