John Sharpe Rowland

In 1810 his family moved to Greenville, South Carolina, and at age 17 John Sharpe Rowland "began teaching an English school with the permission of his parents."

He volunteered during the War of 1812 and served in Captain William Turner's Company under Lieutenant Colonel John Ashe Alston's 3rd Regiment, South Carolina Militia.

[3][6][7][8] He began purchasing land in Cass County (now Bartow), Georgia in 1838 and built a sizable plantation of over 2,500 acres which was called "Etowah Valley".

[11] In 1843, he purchased 2,440 additional acres in Cass County (Bartow) about 9.5 miles northeast of his plantation and, built the most exclusive resort in the state of Georgia, Rowland Springs.

[15] Among other notable friends of Major and Mrs. Rowland was Senator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois who was hosted by them at Etowah Valley Plantation during his tour of the southern states in the spring of 1859.

[4] In September 1861, Major Rowland was appointed Superintendent of the Western & Atlantic Railroad,[21][22] which ran between Atlanta, Georgia and Chattanooga, Tennessee a distance of 138 miles.