First Name last initial: Davina P.
Location of Story: Chatsworth, Ga
May we contact you regarding story: Yes
contact method:
davinap@ghosttn.com
Story: The Chief Vann House
At the start of the 19th century in Chatworth, Georgia, a magnificent house now
called the Chief Vann house was built. Also known as the "Showplace of the
Cherokee Nation", this beautiful brick home is one of the oldest remaining
structures in north Georgia. Its beautiful and unique decor make this house an
even more intriguing place. The house itself was crafted with brick molded from
the red clay on the property. The exterior walls are around eighteen inches
thick and the interior walls around 8 inches thick. The interior
walls of the third floor are plaster on wood. Handwrought nails and hinges from
Vann's own blacksmith shop were also used in the construction of the house. The
house is a combination of the late Federal style and early Georgian style
architecture. The ceilings of both the first and second floor are twelve feet,
while the ceiling of the third floor is only six feet. The third floor had two
rooms one which was the boys room and one that was seperated and more private
that was the girls room.
The Chief Van House was named after its original owner, Chief James Vann,
whom was a member of the Cherokee Triumvirate and one of the richest men in the
Western Hemisphere at that time. It is said that he owned about 200 slaves and
hundreds of acres of farmland. James was born in Spring Place, Georgia in
February 1765.
In addition to the blacksmith shop, the property around the Vann House
included 42 slave cabins, 6 barns, 5 smokehouses, a trading post, over 1,000
peach trees, 147 apple trees, and a still. Vann, his Cherokee wife, his father
Joseph and step-father Clement were among the first white traders in the
Cherokee Nation. Vann's was one of the few Cherokee who could read English.
As a teenager he was called to read letters to the tribe from Tennessee
Governor John Sevier and others. Vann was involed in steering the young Cherokee
Nation on a path towards acculturation and was a respected negotiator for the
Cherokees. But, don't let this fool you, Vann was also a very ill tempered
individual who was more than physically abusive, and for no apparent reason, to
his number of wives and others. He was described by biographer, Lela Latch
Lloyd, as "excessively cruel, and sadistic, a domineering demon." James lived at
the house for 5 years before he was shot and killed at Buffington’s Tavern in
February 1809. His favorite son, Joseph Vann, also known as "Rich Joe" inherited
the house.
In 1819 at the age of 20, Joseph was visited by President James Monroe.
Joseph continued to build the family wealth through the 1820's. After the
Georgia Gold Rush, Joseph had employed a white man to run the plantation. The
Georgia Guard tried to take over the house because, Vann had unknowingly
violated a new Georgia law forbidding whites from working for Cherokees without
a permit. Even though the man had never actually worked for Vann. Spencer Riley,
a man who claimed to have won the house in the Land Lottery of 1832 also tried
to take over the house and Joseph Vann and his family were caught in the midst
of the struggle between the two parties. In the end, Col. Bishop, the leader of
the Guard, took a smoldering log and threw it on the steps and smoked Riley out
of the house.
In March, 1835, The Vann's were forced out of the house. The Vann
family lost their elegant home, and moved with the Cherokee in the trail of
tears to the Cherokee Territory of Oklahoma. In November of 1835 Col. Bishop had
imprisoned John Howard Payne for 13 days on the grounds. Payne who was noted as
the composer of "Home, Sweet Home" had been charged with sedition for supporting
the claims of the Cherokee over the state of Georgia. By the 1950's the house
passed through various hands and was in dire need of repair.
There was no longer a roof, leaving the elements to further damage the
house. Thankfully, the Chief Vann House was administered by the Georgia
Historical Society and a restoration began in 1951 that was completed 12 years
later. Today the Vann House survives as Georgia's best-preserved historic
Cherokee Indian home and is a museum that shares the story of the Chief Vann
House, James Vann and some of its inhabitants and is also included in the
Chieftains Trail. |
