The Chief Vann House

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 1000 acres of Murray County. In 1804 he constructed a beautiful brick home that was the most elegant in the Cherokee Nation. Visitors can tour the best preserved historic Cherokee Indian home. 

Decorated with beautiful Cherokee hand carvings done in natural colors of blue, red, green and yellow, the home features a cantilevered stairway and many fine antiques.

The Vann House is a Georgia Historic Site on the National Register of Historic Places and one of the oldest remaining structures in the northern third of the state of Georgia.

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 the 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.

In the 1830s almost the entire Cherokee Nation was forced west by state and federal troops on the infamous Trail of Tears. The Vann family lost their elegant home, rebuilding in the Cherokee Territory of Oklahoma. Today the Vann House survives as Georgia's best-preserved historic Cherokee Indian home. Georgia Militia evicted Rich Joe Vann in 1835 for having unknowingly violated a new law making it illegal for Indians to hire whites.