Editing Enigma, Georgia

{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name            = Enigma, Georgia
|settlement_type          = [[Town]]
|motto                    = <!-- images and maps  ----------->
| image_skyline = Enigma City Hall.JPG
| imagesize = 
| image_caption = Enigma City Hall
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|image_map                = Berrien_County_Georgia_Incorporated_and_Unincorporated_areas_Enigma_Highlighted.svg
|mapsize                  = 250px
|map_caption              = Location in [[Berrien County, Georgia|Berrien County]] and the state of [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]
|image_map1               = 
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|pushpin_map              = <!-- the name of a location map as per http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Location_map -->
|pushpin_label_position   = <!-- the position of the pushpin label: left, right, top, bottom, none -->
|pushpin_map_caption      = 
|pushpin_mapsize          = <!-- Location ------------------>
|subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_name         = United States
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_name1        = [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Georgia (U.S. state)|County]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[Berrien County, Georgia|Berrien]]
<!-- Politics ----------------->
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|established_title        = <!-- Settled -->
|established_date         = 
|established_title2       = <!-- Incorporated (town) -->
|established_date2        = <!-- Area    --------------------->
|area_magnitude           = 
|unit_pref                = Imperial
|area_footnotes           = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2020">{{cite web|title=2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_place_13.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=December 18, 2021}}</ref>
|area_total_km2           = 8.50
|area_land_km2            = 8.42
|area_water_km2           = 0.08
|area_total_sq_mi         = 3.28
|area_land_sq_mi          = 3.25
|area_water_sq_mi         = 0.03
|area_water_percent       = 
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|area_blank1_title        = 
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|area_blank1_sq_mi        = <!-- Population   ----------------------->
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
|population_footnotes     = 
|population_note          = 
|population_total         = 1058
|population_density_km2   = 125.58
|population_density_sq_mi = 325.24
|population_metro         = 
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|population_density_blank1_sq_mi  = <!-- General information  --------------->
|timezone                 = [[North American Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]]
|utc_offset               = -5
|timezone_DST             = EDT
|utc_offset_DST           = -4
|coordinates              = {{coord|31|24|41|N|83|19|52|W|region:US-GA|display=inline,title}}
|elevation_footnotes      = <!--for references: use <ref> </ref> tags-->
|elevation_m              = 93
|elevation_ft             = 305
<!-- Area/postal codes & others -------->
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
|postal_code              = 31749
|area_code                = [[Area code 229|229]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 13-27596<ref name="GR2">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |accessdate=January 31, 2008 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref>
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 0313955<ref name="GR3">{{cite web|url=http://geonames.usgs.gov|accessdate=January 31, 2008|title=US Board on Geographic Names|publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]]|date=October 25, 2007}}</ref>
|website                  = 
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}}
'''Enigma''' is a town in [[Berrien County, Georgia]], United States. The population was 1,278 at the 2010 census,<ref name="Census 2010">{{cite web| url=http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/G001/1600000US1327596| archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212183435/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/G001/1600000US1327596| url-status=dead| archive-date=February 12, 2020| title=Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Enigma town, Georgia| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder| accessdate=November 4, 2013}}</ref> and 1,058 in 2020. The origin of the name "Enigma" is obscure; the name is itself an enigma.<ref>{{cite book | url=http://www.kenkrakow.com/gpn/d.pdf | title=Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins | publisher=Winship Press | author=Krakow, Kenneth K. | year=1975 | location=Macon, GA | pages=73 | isbn=0-915430-00-2}}</ref> Enigma has frequently been noted on lists of [[Place names considered unusual|unusual place names]].<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=29zh3dIgmv8C&pg=PR9 | title=Welcome to Horneytown, North Carolina, Population: 15: An insider's guide to 201 of the world's weirdest and wildest places | publisher=Adams Media | author=Parker, Quentin | year=2010 | pages=ix | isbn=9781440507397 }}{{Dead link|date=March 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

==History==
Enigma is a small town in South Georgia located in the northwest tip of Berrien County, {{convert|9|mi|0}} east of [[Tifton, Georgia|Tifton]], on [[U.S. Route 82 in Georgia|U.S. Highway 82]]. The town was founded between 1876 and 1880 by John A. Ball. It was not initially named "Enigma". Originally a settlement, it was commonly referred to as "Gunn and Weston" until Ball decided he wanted a real name for this town. Two names, "Lax" and "Enigma", were proposed to state officials for review. Lax was already taken by another nearby settlement, and so "Enigma" became the official name.<ref name="Cauthen, Edna Dean 1975">Cauthen, Edna Dean, Elon Dean Murphy and Estelle Dean McMillan. ''The History of Berrien County: Enigma, Berrien County, Georgia'' 1975.</ref> Enigma is an odd name for a town; by definition it means a puzzle or mystery. Ball said, "It was a puzzle what to name it anyway." The town was incorporated on August 21, 1906.<ref name="Cauthen, Edna Dean 1975"/>
[[File:Enigma, Georgia (circa 1900).jpg|thumb|left|Enigma, circa 1900]]

Ball and his family originated in [[Raleigh, North Carolina]], traveling to Georgia on the [[Brunswick and Western Railroad]]. He became the town's first postmaster, and not long afterward, Capt J.B. Gunn from [[Terrell County, Georgia]], came as an assistant. Ball and his son Jim started a [[turpentine]] business around 1878. Ball returned to Raleigh to bring back a man named Tubb Daughtry and his family to help run the business. He gave them land to live on and permission to worship as they pleased. The turpentine business soon dwindled, and lumber became the main focus. Capt. J. B. Gunn and Capt. S. R. Weston built a sawmill two miles east of Enigma. H. F. Stewart came to work in the sawmill.<ref name="Cauthen, Edna Dean 1975"/>

Other businesses opened in Enigma throughout the years, including a grocery, merchandise, and hardware stores. E.F. Bussey set up a merchandise store in a building owned at one time by Gunn. This building also housed the U.S. Post Office and sold coffins on its second story.<ref name="Cauthen, Edna Dean 1975"/> It was located on the south side of the railroad. The railroad's closest depot was in [[Brookfield, Georgia|Brookfield]], {{convert|4|mi|0}} away. Enigma had a doctor's office run by G.R. Parker. There have been three banks in Enigma throughout the years. Two banks were started around 1915 to 1917, and the other one was started in 1973. The People's Bank opened in 1915 and closed in 1916, and the Ambrose-Enigma Banking Company opened on June 5, 1917, and closed around 1920. The Bank of Alapaha opened a branch in Enigma on March 1, 1973, and is still in business.

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of {{convert|3.3|sqmi|km2}}, of which {{convert|3.2|sqmi|km2}} is land and {{convert|0.04|sqmi|km2}}, or 1.14%, is water.<ref name="Census 2010"/>

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1910= 338
|1920= 340
|1930= 360
|1940= 529
|1950= 499
|1960= 525
|1970= 505
|1980= 574
|1990= 611
|2000= 869
|2010= 1278
|2020= 1058
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|accessdate=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
}}

At the [[census]] of 2000, there were 869 people, 313 households, and 231 families residing in the town.<ref name="GR2" /> By 2020, its population was 1,058.

==Education==
The Enigma school was located on the north side of town. It started as a one-room school house, then moved to a three-room school house. A large brick building was built in 1926 to serve as a new school, also on the north side, just across from Highway 82. In the fall of 1954 all county high schools were consolidated into Berrien High in Nashville, the county seat. The original Enigma school building was still in use as part of the elementary school when it burned in October 1973. The gymnasium and cafeteria were still standing, and portable classrooms were brought in so the school could continue until it was rebuilt.<ref name="Cauthen, Edna Dean 1975"/>  Enigma Elementary School was never rebuilt, and the mobile units continued serving the school until it closed at the end of the 1987–88 school year. Enigma Elementary merged with West Berrien Elementary School starting with the 1988–89 school year.  The new Northwest Elementary School was housed on the old West Berrien campus.  Northwest Elementary School was closed in 1994 in the final consolidation of schools in the county.  Now all children are bussed to Berrien Primary, Berrien Elementary, Berrien Middle, and Berrien High in Nashville. The Enigma School grounds now serve as the Enigma City Park.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.berriencountyga.com Berrien County Historical Photos Collection]
* [http://www.berrien.k12.ga.us/ Berrien County Board of Education]

{{Berrien County, Georgia}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Towns in Berrien County, Georgia]]
[[Category:Towns in Georgia (U.S. state)]]