Elk Community

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, in my own words. Settle in, because this one starts with a family, a farm, and a name that almost never was. Martin and Elizabeth McConnel Harper loaded up their five children, left Tennessee behind, and arrived here in 1855.

They weren't alone, either. Others who came with them were Scots-Irish from the American south, folks who knew hard work and knew each other. The Harpers got to building right away, putting up a log cabin, a schoolhouse, and outbuildings on their 160 acres.

That schoolhouse became the heartbeat of the place. People gathered there for school, for worship, for elections. The community took on the name Harper's School House, and for a good while, that name held.

The Harper Cemetery was established in 1861 by Martin and Elizabeth's son, Moses. The first recorded burial there was a woman named Lucy Morrow, who died that same year. That's the kind of detail that stays with you.

Then, around 1885, the community started to shift. Czech and German immigrants began settling in, bringing new names and new ways alongside the old ones. By 1890, J.

W. Mansfield and S. D.

McWhorter had opened the Elk cotton gin, one of the major businesses in the area. Things were growing. Now, here's where the name comes in.

It's 1894, and a woman named Mertie Emma McKinley applies to establish a post office. She puts in the name Harper's School House. Rejected.

So Mrs. McKinley chose the name Elk instead. At that time, the community had a population of 150, and the post office served 500 people.

Five hundred. That's not a small operation. Over the years, Elk would come to boast a Catholic church, a barber shop, a blacksmith, doctors' offices, a gristmill, a livery stable, a meat market, a beer hall, a cafe, fraternal lodges, several stores, a service station, a telephone exchange, and waterworks.

That is a full town, friend. St. Joseph's Catholic Church, established in 1925, remains at the heart of it all to this day, surrounded by farmland, by houses, by a community that is still predominantly Czech and German.

One family from Tennessee, one schoolhouse, one woman with a post office application, and a name that stuck. That's Elk.

What the marker says

The first permanent settlers of this area were Martin and Elizabeth McConnel Harper, who arrived from Tennessee with their five children in 1855. Others who settled with the Harpers were Scots-Irish from the American south. The Harper family erected a log cabin, a schoolhouse, and outbuildings on their 160-acre farm. The community acquired the name Harper's School House, and the school also was used for religious activities and local elections. The Harper Cemetery was established by Martin and Elizabeth's son, Moses, in 1861. Lucy Morrow, whose burial was the first recorded in the cemetery, died that year. Czech and German immigrants began settling in the community about 1885. The Elk cotton gin, one of the major businesses in the area, was opened in 1890 by J. W. Mansfield and S. D. McWhorter. Mertie Emma McKinley applied for the establishment of a post office in the community in 1894. Because the name Harper's School House was rejected, Mrs. McKinley chose the name Elk. At that time the community population was 150, and the number served by the post office was 500. At various times, Elk has boasted a Catholic church, barber shop, blacksmith, doctors' offices, gristmill, livery stable, a meat market, a beer hall, cafe, fraternal lodges, several stores, and a service station, telephone exchange, and waterworks. St. Joseph's Catholic Church, established in 1925, remains at the heart of the community, which is surrounded by farmland and houses in the predominately Czech and German Elk community. (1999)