According to local sources, the Keith Plantation near Canton, GA, in present-day Keithsburg* during the Civil War. The property held over 3,300 acres along the Etowah River two miles north of Etowah. (Note: At one point in the past, Canton was named Etowah) The plantation had a large brick house made from a kiln with red clay from the Etowah River.
The story goes on to recount a tale of how the owner of the plantation, Mackey A. Keith Jr. hid food supplies from the Union when Sherman's men burned more than half of nearby Etowah down. The food was hidden in the trees of the plantation. When the Union soldiers discovered this, they hung him in retaliation. In one recounting, the rope broke, in others, the slaves of the plantation cut down their master out of their regard for him.
Archaeologist Robert Wauchope investigated the Keith property in the 1940s. In his report, the claimed evidence of pottery between the Early Woodland Period. There was a village site on the property a half mile past the Keith plantation home along the river. Arrowheads and various stamped and checked pottery types were found at the site. At the time of the excavation, one of the jugs found at the site had only ever been at one other site in Georgia, at a dig at Chickamauga.
in 1935, the Keith Family sold their land to Pierce Cline. The Cline family passed it on Clyde Teague. His daughter, Marjorie, married Dutch York after meeting him at the University of Georgia. Eventually, the ownership passed down to the York family after Marjorie and Dutch moved there in 1952.
The York family added modifications to the property: an in-ground pool and a half dozen outbuildings. Many of the windows and doors were replaced in the home as well. According to sources, there was a fire in the property sometime in the 80's that ravaged the interior of the home.
Marjorie and Dutch York's son Michael currently owns the property.
In 2006, there was a push by the Cherokee County Historical Society to preserve the property as a historical site. However, the York family asked not to be on the society's list of properties to be saved.
Currently, the plantation, outbuildings, and 256 acres of land, many of them along the Etowah River are for sale. In my opinion, It is unlikely the property will sell at the hefty asking price of $25 million. They are in talks with 2 or 3 other developers. The York family isn't willing to donate the house for preservation.
___________________________________________________________
Today, there are claims of lineage by the descendants of the Keith family slaves. It appears that Mackey A. Keith, Jr. donated 40-acre parcels to many of the intermingled members of the Keith, Bates, and McMickens family lines. Most of those families lived in an area that was known as Keith's Ridge, which later changed to Pearidge.
Phillip Keith donated the two acres for the original Hickory Log Church. His wife Aggie was a slave on the Keith Plantation. He is buried at the Hickory Log Cemetery along with his wife.
*Keithsburg was originally named Keiths after the surname of the same.
*One such story is that Keithsburg was formerly named Mabel. However, Mabel is shown two miles north of Keiths on the 1894 Marietta and North Georgia Railroad schedule.
I believe the last occupant of the home was named Dutch York and maybe worked for Lockheed Martin. He died in 2020 but it appears the home has probably been vacant and rotting since 2002.
Thanks for the info. My great-grandmother was a member of the original Keith family and I’m planning to visit Canton next week.