In 1829, a man named Young Potts moved to Dawson County from South Carolina. He hit the ground running and made a small fortune in his early prospecting in the late 1820s. Within a few years, in an attempt to maintain anonymity, he and his family moved into the rugged terrain known as the Wolfscratch Wilderness in 1836. Located on LL 131 and 98, Young Potts purchased nearly 500 acres of land in the remote forests of Cherokee County.
Young Potts built his house near a spring and branch of Yellow Creek. Back in his time, his house was a sight to behold. It was one story, painted white, and featured a nice porch and paned glass windows. There also were a few outbuildings including a corn crib and barn.
The Potts house
He married in 1839 and had his first child in 1842. Within a few years, a family grave plot was established for his loved ones.
An old sign nailed to a tree indicates the direction of the plot
In the area east of Steve Tate Highway near Marble Hill, Potts Mountain was named after Young Potts. And while on modern maps Potts Mountain refers to the mountain itself; in the 1800's it referred to a geographical region that was much broader than the mountain.
There is a legend regarding Young Potts and a slave of his. Potts and his slave traveled by horse to Atlanta to trade and sell items. In the 1800s the trip took about a week. On the return trip home, Young Potts was stirred from his sleep to discover his slave standing over him with an axe. Potts confronted him and the slave assured him that he wasn't trying to hurt him. Upon his arrival at the Potts' property, Young Potts quickly murdered his slave.
There is no gravestone in the family plot to indicate the location of the slave. However, there are about seven graves of Potts family members and their marriage partners and children.
In 1856, (three years and one day after the founding of Pickens County) Young Potts got sick and died at the age of 55.
Young Potts' wife and children lived with him and were mostly buried in their family cemetery not far from their house. His daughter Christianna married Doctor William Padgett. When Dr. Padgett died in 1892, he was the last person buried at the private plot. Christiana sold the Potts property to Bill Brooks in 1905.
I discovered the location of the cemetery quite by accident. I was just about to give up looking during my first search when I found the wooden sign in the picture above. I found a second sign near a corner where two paths converge. This sign was weathered and all of the painted letters had worn off. I brought it out of the woods to a friend and she repainted it.
On my second outing to the cemetery, I nailed to the original tree it once hung from years ago.
Old directional marker, new paint.
For those who would like to find the cemetery, I'll leave you a clue. It is at the D.W. Padgett marker on this map from 1903.
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