Etowah Valley was the name given to the plantation home of John Sharp Rowland. A veteran of the War of 1812, Rowland came to Cass County (now Bartow) from South Carolina in 1839, purchasing over thirteen hundred acres for his new home. A post office existed from 1841 to 1846 at the Rowland home. Rowland was appointed superintendent of the Western & Atlantic Railroad in 1861 and held this position until his death in 1863. He is buried in the family cemetery near his home on the west side of GA Highway 113 & 61 adjacent to the north end of the runway of the Cartersville Airport. The old plantation home no longer exists, but was located approximately 300 feet southwest of the cemetery. Rowland was best known locally for his approximately two thousand acre Rowland Springs health resort, established in 1843, which was considered at one time the most exclusive resort in Georgia. Though both the plantation and resort were in Bartow County (formerly Cass), they were separated by approximately eight miles. For additional information, refer to the history of “Rowland Springs”.


Source: History of Bartow County, Georgia, Formerly Cass by Lucy Josephine Cunyus; Historian, Paul Dietrich; United States and Worldwide Postal History by Jim Forte.

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