By SHERRI SMITH BROWN

Georgia > Northwest Georgia Mountains > Murray County > Chatsworth

The Chief Vann House in the Northwest Georgia Mountains was once owned by one of the wealthiest families in the Cherokee Indian Nation.

A “floating staircase,” 12-foot mantle, and fine antiques — somehow I never imagine something like this as the home of a Cherokee Indian leader. But the Chief Vann House Historic Site is just that. This two-and-a-half story brick home built in 1804 belonged to James Vann, a wealthy businessman whose 1,000-acre plantation near Chatsworth in what is now Murray County was the largest and most prosperous in the Cherokee nation.

Vann was murdered in 1809, but his son Joseph went on to inherit the property and add to the family fortune until the tragic Indian Removal of the 1830s. The family lost their home and was forced to move west to the Cherokee Territory of Oklahoma along with the rest of the Cherokees in the infamous Trail of Tears.

Today, this lovely old historic home is Georgia’s best-preserved Cherokee Indian home and a state historic site. At the Chief Vann House Historic Site, you can view exhibits, artifacts and a film about Chiefs James and Joseph Vann and the Cherokee Nation at the visitor center and take a guided house tour of the home. There is also a .5-mile walking trail on the 99 acres of property.

Read more about Native American History, Chatsworth and Murray County, or find other activities in the Northwest Georgia Mountains Travel Region here at Brown’s Guides.

Tags: Cherokee Indians, Chief Vann, historic house, museum

This entry was posted on Friday, July 3rd, 2009 at 4:45 am and is filed under Museums, Native Americans, State Parks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.