Points Along The Trail
Chief Vann Home
Chatsworth, GA.
During the 1790s, James Vann became a Cherokee Indian leader and wealthy businessman. He established the largest and most prosperous plantation in the Cherokee Nation, covering 1,000 acres of what is now Murray County. In 1804 he completed construction of a beautiful 2 ½ story brick home that was the most elegant in the Cherokee Nation. After Vann was murdered in 1809, his son Joseph inherited the mansion and plantation. Joseph was also a Cherokee leader and became even more wealthy than his father.
Chief Vann home, located in Chatsworth, GA.
In 1834 the Georgia Guard evicted Vann from his property under the pretext that Vann had broken a state law that prohibited whites from working for Indians. (Vann had hired a white man as overseer of his plantation.) This eviction was permitted under the dictates of the Georgia land lottery, which led to the final removal of the Cherokees from the state in 1838. Vann filed a lawsuit over the dispossession of his property and was eventually awarded $19,605 for the loss of Spring Place Plantation.
The Vann home, 1904.
- Courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
In 1834 Cherokee chief James Vann's son Joseph lost the family home to the state. The home was subsequently owned by seventeen people and had fallen into a state of disrepair before its 1952 purchase and restoration by the Georgia Historical Commission.
After the eviction Vann moved his family to Tennessee, where he owned a large plantation on the Tennessee River near the mouth of Ooltewah Creek. In 1836 Vann again moved west, this time to Webbers Falls on the Arkansas River. He died on October 6, 1844, when his ferryboat exploded during a race near Louisville, Kentucky. Today the Vann House survives as Georgia’s best-preserved historic Cherokee Indian home. A guided tour allows visitors to see the house which features beautiful hand carvings, a remarkable “floating” staircase, a 12-foot mantle and fine antiques.
360 degree view.
The Trail of Tears Chief Vann home, located in Chatsworth, GA.
In 1834 the Georgia Guard evicted Vann from his property under the pretext that Vann had broken a state law that prohibited whites from working for Indians. (Vann had hired a white man as overseer of his plantation.) This eviction was permitted under the dictates of the Georgia land lottery, which led to the final removal of the Cherokees from the state in 1838. Vann filed a lawsuit over the dispossession of his property and was eventually awarded $19,605 for the loss of Spring Place Plantation.
The Vann home, 1904.
- Courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
In 1834 Cherokee chief James Vann's son Joseph lost the family home to the state. The home was subsequently owned by seventeen people and had fallen into a state of disrepair before its 1952 purchase and restoration by the Georgia Historical Commission.
After the eviction Vann moved his family to Tennessee, where he owned a large plantation on the Tennessee River near the mouth of Ooltewah Creek. In 1836 Vann again moved west, this time to Webbers Falls on the Arkansas River. He died on October 6, 1844, when his ferryboat exploded during a race near Louisville, Kentucky. Today the Vann House survives as Georgia’s best-preserved historic Cherokee Indian home. A guided tour allows visitors to see the house which features beautiful hand carvings, a remarkable “floating” staircase, a 12-foot mantle and fine antiques.
360 degree view.