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H I S T O R Y   O F   E L L I O T T

By Harold Gassen. Re-printed in the Robertson County Historical Foundation's Annual Pilgrimage of Homes, Churches, & Library, May 5 & 6, 2001: A Spring Celebration of the History of Robertson County.

From the mid- to late-1800s, a railroad switch station was built halfway between Hearne and Franklin on what is now State Highway 79.  This switch was named Una.  At this location, a small but organized town developed.  The International & Great Northern Railroad established a depot that was located to the south of the existing railroad tracks adjacent to the Elliott Baptist Church.  At one time, the little town had two cotton gins, a general store, doctor's office, school, and a depot which also houses the post office.  In 1889, the Una Baptist Church (now Elliott Baptist Church) was organized.  There was also a Methodist Church next to the Baptist Church.

In 1900, the railroad discovered there was another switch named Una on their tracks so they renamed the switch Elliott.  Up and through the 1920s, cotton farming and the businesses in the little town survived well, Then, the depression years came and changed a lot of lifestyles.  There was almost always a small store in Elliott.  In the 1920s, it was owned and operated by Robert Gandy; in the 1930s by Hoot Parker, and in the 1940s through the 1950s by Mr. Lee.  In 1959, George Gassen had a service station with a store and later a cabinet shop until 1976.  The station was opened again and sold propane until the late 1990s.  In the mid-1970s, the Robertson County Water Supply was formed.  This was a great improvement to the surrounding county as well as to the Elliott Community.

As of January 1, 2001, the most prominent landmark remaining of early Elliott is the Elliott Baptist Church.