Crossgates is located on a unique property of 1,000 acres that was
formerly operated as one of the state's largest dairy farms.
The G. R. Worthington family
operated the dairy farm. Originally the area consisted of 10,000 acres known as
the Pleasant Grove Plantation.
In 1840 part of the 10,000 acres
was purchase by the A. P. Miller family from Robert E. Lee. Robert E. Lee
personally did the survey of the land and this survey accompanied the transfer
of the property.
In the Civil War a part of the
Federal Army left Jackson to capture Brandon, reaching the Pleasant Grove
Plantation at mid-afternoon and camped in a cornfield for the night. According
to legend, the officer in charge used the home for his headquarters and utilized
the music room for a stable for his horse and used the baby grand piano as a
feed trough.
Historian for the National Park Service, Ed Bearss has written that the
last shot fired in the Vicksburg Campaign was fired on Miller's Lane. This is
the approximate location where Crossgates is located.