Perryville Names - Questionable Texas History

Since coming here I have heard several different versions of why the city of Elgin is mispronounced with the hard g as in get rather than the j sound as English masters tell me it should be. The historical fact is the stage-stop community of Young's Settlement, which became Perryville with the arrival of a post office and was also known as Hogeye, moved two miles north to be on the Houston & Texas Central railroad line. From there the story becomes more diverse.

The first explanation I heard was that immigrant northern European settlers used the homeland's grammatical rules and the hard G sound, which habit was copied by the under-educated early settlers at this end of the blackland prairie.

The next story I heard was that when the railroad was being built through the area a large number of saloons were established in what became the city. When the Masons down at Hogeye decided economic sense required they move to the railroad, they sought a new name for the town. They asked a well loved and respected train conductor named Elgin about naming it after him. He agreed, but only if the hard G was used. The alleged basis for his insistence was that he was a strict teetotaler and did not want any association with Gin. Since the line was not finished to Austin until 1871 and Pullman service on the line did not start until 1872 this is a pretty doubtful story, but sort of fun. The associated story is that by the turn of the century the town was so burdened with saloons and gambling that it was commonly called "Hellgin" (same hard g) by the railroad employees.

The latest tale was announced in a community event last evening and is apparently endorsed by the chamber of commerce. In this version the commissioner of the Houston & Texas Central line was a fellow named Elgin and he gave his blessing to using the family name for the relocated community. There was no explanation why his family name was pronounced with the hard g.

I suppose I'll have to break down and go over to the historical society to do some research.