TALIAFERRO COUNTY, GA - HISTORY  Raytown Tour

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This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by:  Terri Saturday tlsaturday@nu-z.net

Column originally published in Advocate Democrat


Ray's Place, oldest community in Taliaferro
County, was, in the late 1790's and early 1800's,
a recreation center on Little River for the
"livelier social set" of Washington. 

It was named for two Ray brothers from New York
who lived in Washington for several years. In
later years the famed Wrightsbrough Road came
through Raytown and 12 miles away from Town one of
the greatest charms of the County down in the
Corner where, Taliaferro , Warren and McDuffie
meet lies the second Quaker House in Northeast
Georgia, an old two-story plantation house where
about 150 people came to dance for hours.

Eight tall trees stood around the house and gave
shade all summer and harbor many birds most of
time. A large expanse of good Cotton was grown and
corn. The old Augusta road to Washington and the
North used to come across this place, passing in
front of this house and down near the walled in
spring. The traffic of coaches, wagons, riders and
traffic of all sorts.

After the civil war and during the reconstruction
an armed party of mounted men on its way from
Warren to Lincoln county for a necessary occasion
halted by the spring and were given tobacco and
coffee from wagons outspanned there for the night.

There were Indian battles fought along here,
judging from the quantities of stone spear and
arrow heads that were found along the Indian trial
near the old Macfie graveyard.

On July 27, 1784, the plantation was granted to
Marmaduke and his sister, Hannah, after their
father James Mendenhall who died in Wrightsbrough
on his way to the property. According to the 1784
Plat the Original Grant to Marmaduke Mendenhall
was almost square. Starting with the junction of
the Williams Creek with Little River. It is
estimated Marmaduke built the plantation home in
1790 known as "Colonsay Plantation" With the
introduction of slaves, most of the Mendenhalls,
being Quakers, left Georgia, and went to Ohio.
Hannah Mendenhall, however stayed behind and
married Alexander Stephens' first school teacher
Nathaniel Day.

The Colonsay Plantation's next owner was Thomas
Hamilton, who had another plantation down near my
home town in Augusta. These Hamiltons were a great
race, large boned fighting men from Scotland, via
from Barbados by way of Port Buford and Augusta.
Colonsay was noted to be the oldest house in the
Raytown District. Colonsay is named for a small
island in the open Atlantic, twenty-five miles
west of the Scottish mainland.

Charles Richardson Carter, a distant cousin of
Alexander Stephens, vice-president of the
Confederacy bought the land in 1807 and still
living there until 1820. It is thought he built
the newer section of the home during that time. In
the early days the home was an Inn, or a Stage-
Coach stop, on the road from Washington to
Wrightsbrough. The road forked the Little River
just below the site of Dave Moore's Mill.

Mr. Thomas Girdwood Macfie was the first Macfie
family member here, South African of Scotch
descent, heraldry expert, artist - the Holbrook
Gallery at the University of Georgia; his wife
Erma who attended many teaching tour in Asia Minor
- she was a Fulbright instructor in Izmir, Turkey.
Thomas stated his plantation remained a working
plantation. MacFie and his sons raised cotton and
farmed.

Thomas MacFie informed the Advocated on December
30, 1927 that his son, Mr. Thomas "Girdwood"
MacFie had purchased 100 acres of land adjoining
that of his father at Little River, paying $12.50
per acre for it. The property was part of the old
Thomas Hamilton planation.

In late 1954 and early 1955 100 grade ewes and 4
registered Hamshire rams were delivered to the
Macfie farm where demonstrations were conducted to
promote the sheep industries in Georgia.

Several times, however, the Macfie's have left
"Colonsay" the second set of MacFies left in the
sixties when the former Erna Carl accepted a
Fullbright grant to teach in a boys' school in
Turkey. The whole family accompanied her while
Girdwood learned Turkish. In 1967 Mrs. MacFie and
the three boys, Thomas, Ian and Sam went to
Scotland and visited the land of Mr. MacFie's
clannish ancestors. She taught German at
Washington - Wilkes High School.

During the week, while Mrs. MacFie taught classes.
Girdwood could be found at the Washington Public
Library where he researched history as I do now.

After Girdwood's parents died , Macfie expanded
his interests into painting, history, and writing.
These combined into study of heraldry and he began
painting coats of arms for many residents of the
County.

Girdwood is missed by so many as his legend lives
on.  I would love to talk to anyone that may know
of Macfie's neighbors the Davis' that lived near
his plantation.  Or if you hold any of Girdwood's
painting, I heard they were a treasure to see.
 
Until my next adventure
Terri Kimbrel Saturday