Lockhart

History

Lockhart came into being about 1904 when the Jackson Lumber Company mill was constructed there, the community being a company town. Many streets were named for Native American tribes. The mill was erected to handle the dense forests of yellow pine in what was known as the "Jackson Tract". The town was named for Standard Oil magnate and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania financier, Charles Lockhart. In 1912, the mill employed around 1,000 workers and ran 24/7. At that time Lockhart was the largest lumber mill in the United States. Flooring for the famous Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City came from Lockhart. In 1903 the mill was the center of a peonage scandal. More than 100 immigrant laborers recruited in cities in the North were held against their will in a walled compound on the site. Company officials were sentenced to as much as 18 months in jail when convicted but were able to have their sentences reduced by political friends. The milling facility was served by both the Central of Georgia Railroad and the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, connecting through nearby Florala, Alabama. "The mill, however, closed in 1940, and historical accounts offer two reasons. Military enlistments prior to U.S. entry in World War II caused a labor shortage, or company officials sold their holdings and the land to the residents after cutting all the timber in the area and deciding not to wait for replanted timber to mature. Jackson Lumber Company also donated much land to the state that was replanted and developed by the Civilian Conservation Corps into Geneva State Forest in neighboring Geneva County." This land had little value after it had been clear cut, the practice of the time, and being unable to sell the now-deforested acreage during the Great Depression, the company returned…

Geography

Lockhart is located in southern Covington County north of the Florida state line. Lockhart is bordered by the town of Florala to the east. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 3.53%, is water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,389
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  1,296
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,286
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  1,258
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,243
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,191
• Eastern Bluebird

  Sialia sialis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,138
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,126