One of six towns that are points in an irregular star around the county seat of Thomas County, Ochlocknee forms a neat and prosperous community center.

In a favorable location on a rise of land 270 feet above sea level the town takes its name from the Ochlocknee River:  the meandering stream that courts maiden creeks to form Lake Talquin near Tallahassee, and marries the Gulf of Mexico in Apalachee Bay.

Ochlocknee, the "Crooked River," is rough with consonants when spoken, but adjoining land is smooth as it gently rises three miles, north toward it´s namesake.

The name and the land have evolved from earlier interpretations:  OCHO´HONEE on the 1790 maps ? a stream in the worthless "Pine Barrens";  OCHLOCKNEE on the 1870 Phillips map, and two conflicting spellings during the first quarter of the 20^th Century.  The post office was at Ochlockney, the town was Ochlocknee.

Whatever the spelling, the town, formed in 1860, was charted in 1877 with a population of 23 on Land Lot 235 in the 13^th District of Thomas County.

More than just statistics, the site was a wise choice:  on well-drained land above the Ochlocknee River, Barnett´s Creek, Horse Creek and Pine Creek.  Advantage of location is apparent in the plans for Ochlocknee as the first mayor, L.R. Sills, took office with the Council, composed of R. Singletary, B. Singletary, J.J. Brown, and T.A. Bullock.

In the early settlement of the county, forming the star communities was practical.

An over-night trip, rough and wet for provisions and mail was not always possible.  Postal service, basic provisions, church, Masonic meetings, were advisable for Ochlocknee and its planters nearby.  This was to remain so as a major influence in the formation of Thomas County´s sociological profile.

Another factor in the formation of Ochlocknee in 1860 may be inferred from the common practice of settlement clusters:  protective enclaves of the pioneers in Indian territory.  The Roanoke Massacre of 1836 in Stewart County remained a nightmare memory and continued to be a warning to Ochlocknee-area planters; if not a fortress, at least a place to join forces promised some security ? better than an isolated attempt at defense.

Three years after Ochlocknee´s formation, the Battle of Brushy Creek was waged in July, 1863.

Indian parties from Florida had been making sporadic raids into Southwest Georgia for some time burning and pillaging.  Reports of a band of Creek Indians, sighted above Ochlocknee caused apprehension.  Lead by Col. T.E. Blackshear, 31 volunteers including those from the Ochlocknee District confronted the war party and won the skirmish.

Battles with Indians preceded the communities involvement in war.

The Ochlocknee Light Infantry moved into action in August, 1861 as one of the first to see action from Thomas County in the War Between the States.  The 29^th Georgia Regiment, swelled by Ochlocknee volunteers in 1863 was on the march again.

Center of Ochlocknee activity revolved around the Baptist and Methodist Churches when field work was over for Ochlocknee citizens.  Baptists were among the original founders of Georgia; the Methodists, of Thomas County.

Missionary and Primitive persuasions divided the Baptists in Ochlocknee in 1843 because of anti-missionary feelings that flared up in the Ochlocknee Association;  a strong church group originating in 1827.  Methodism that began in 1822 in Thomas County under a brush arbor, then a church in 1828 at Spring Hill, saw the Ochlocknee Methodist soon to follow.

Education has played a major role in Ochlocknee´s life.  As early as 1870, Barnett Creek Academy received students from the town and surrounding farms a 40-week session.  The tuition was $20.00.  Public schools reached for a new excellence in 1921 when J. Gordon Garrison transferred from Coolidge to Ochlocknee and had as school trustees:  E.R. Clark, A.E. Speer, Oscar Maddox, N.H. Sasser, and U.C. Stewart.

Consolidation became the major progressive development considered among the trustees that soon led to Thomas County´s school system of today.

Ochlocknee, too, was represented in the first Rose Festival parade in 1948 and won first prize in the City Division for the float, "Crooked Waters."