Cohutta-Chattahoochee Scenic Byway
Chief Vann House, GA

This classic two-story mansion has been called the "Showplace of the Cherokee Nation." Built by Chief James Vann in 1804, it was the first brick home located within the Cherokee Nation.

Chief Vann, loved by few and feared by many, was considered both a rogue and a hero. He brought the Moravian missionaries to the Cherokee Nation to build schools. On the flip side, he was notorious for killing his brother-in-law in a duel, firing a pistol at dinner guests through a hole in the floor of an upstairs bedroom, and even for shooting at his own mother! He was killed at a local tavern in 1809, supposedly for killing his brother-in-law.

His son, Joseph, also known as "Rich Joe Vann," inherited the home. In 1835 he was evicted by the Georgia Militia for unknowingly violating a new law which made it illegal for an Indian to hire a white man. Joseph then settled in the Cherokee Territory in Oklahoma until his death in 1844.