This “showplace of the Cherokee Nation” is one of the best-preserved Cherokee plantation homes. Built by James Vann in 1804, the two-story mansion was the finest in the Cherokee Nation. Vann, a Cherokee politician and businessman, was responsible for bringing Moravian missionaries into the Cherokee Nation to build schools. However, Vann was also known to have killed his brother-in-law in a duel and was later killed as a local tavern in 1809.
The house was inherited by his eldest son, Joseph “Rich Joe” Vann, also a businessman and politician. In 1832, a white man named Spencer Riley tried to take the Vann home, claiming he’d won it in a land lottery. He failed, but in 1835 the Georgia Militia evicted Vann from the house when he unwittingly violated a new Georgia law making it illegal for Cherokees to hire whites. The Vann family fled to Indian Territory and never returned to Georgia.
Chief Vann House Travel Details
Open Thursday – Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (last tour begins 45 minutes before closing). Admission costs $5.50-$6.50. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.
Directions: The Chief Vann House is just east of Dalton, Georgia. For specific directions, click the “Directions” link in the location bubble of the map above and enter your starting location on the left.
GPS & Map: 34.76326227399369,-84.82189893722534
