Places: the James Vann House, Chatsworth, Georgia

A house can be a visible reminder of the triumphs and tragedies of the people who live within its walls.  The James Vann House, a National Historic Place in Chatsworth, Murray County, is one example.

James Vann (c 1765-1809) was a mixed-race Cherokee with a Native mother and Scottish father.  He quickly rose to prominence in the Cherokee Nation and was a colleague of Major Ridge and Charles Hicks.  He was also a successful businessman and planter who owned extensive properties in Georgia.  And, like many Native leaders in the Southeast of this era, he did own slaves.  In 1803, he began work on a home that would reflect his status, a red brick Georgian and Federal style mansion.  The bricks were made with red clay from one of his plantation properties.  The nails, hinges and other iron components were made in a foundry on the plantation site.  It was the first such house in the Cherokee Nation at the time and remains a cultural treasure.

Unfortunately, James didn't live long to enjoy his home.  He did in 1809 and, contrary to Cherokee custom, left the house to his son Joseph, called Rich Joe by his neighbors.  Joe had his father's knack for business and continued to add to the family holdings.  He also added on to and improved the house his father had left him.  In 1819, when President James Monroe was visiting Murray County, he requested to stay in the Vann House because it was the most comfortable house in the area.  Then, in 1829, Georgia experienced a gold rush, with some of the strikes being on Cherokee land.  As more and more settlers poured into the area seeking gold, they couldn't help but notice the prosperous home and property of the Vanns and other Cherokee land owners.  Greed kicked in.  Joe Vann had hired a white man to look after the house while he was away tending to his other properties.  Georgia authorities used that as a pretext (Whites could not legally work for Natives) to seize the house in 1835, forcing Joe and his family to remove to Oklahoma in the windup to the Trail of Tears.  The house remained vacant while two claimants to the property (sold in a land lottery along with other Cherokee holdings), litigated about who owned it.  Joe Vann later sued for the loss of his property and received $19,000 in the currency of the time.  This was far below the market value of the house and its surrounding land. 

The house passed through several successive owners before being sold to the Georgia State Historical Commission in 1952.  The house was restored in 1958 and is administered by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.  A museum and interpretive center accompanies the house today.