Chief Vann House
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Chief Vann House
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Chief Vann House
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| Location | 82 Highway 225 N, Chatsworth, Georgia |
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| Coordinates | 34°45′47.10″N 84°49′20.09″W / 34.7630833°N 84.8222472°WCoordinates: 34°45′47.10″N 84°49′20.09″W / 34.7630833°N 84.8222472°W |
| Built | 1804 |
| Architect | Dr. Henry Chandlee Forman |
| Architectural style | Federal |
| NRHP Reference # | 69000044 |
| Added to NRHP | October 28, 1969 |
The Chief Vann House is the first brick residence in the Cherokee Nation, and has been called the "Showplace of the Cherokee Nation". Owned by the Cherokee Chief James Vann, 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. It is located in Murray County, on the outskirts of Chatsworth in northwest Georgia, which has a commanding view of the land around it and of the Cohutta Mountains, about 10 miles (16 km) to the east.
When James Vann was rising to become the wealthiest businessman in the Cherokee Nation as well as a chief, he decided to build a two-story brick house which would reflect his status. He brought in professional architects for its design. In addition to providing an education to local Cherokees, the Moravians contributed to the building.
In July 1803, a man named Vogt (perhaps James Vann’s brother in-law Charles Vogt), and Dr. Henry Chandlee Forman, arrived to begin construction. Work began in late 1803 and the house was completed early in 1804. Both the exterior walls (which are around eighteen inches thick) and the interior walls (around eight inches thick) are solid brick. These bricks came from the red clay located on the Spring Place Plantation (Vann House) property. Handwrought nails and hinges came from Vann's own blacksmith shop. Only the interior walls of the third floor are plaster on wood.
The house is a combination of late Federal style architecture and early Georgian style. It has two full stories with a half third story: the ceilings of both the first and second floor stand at twelve feet, while the ceiling of the third floor stands at only six feet.
The first and second floors have the standard three rooms. On both levels there is a room to the east, a room to the west, and a hallway dividing the two. On the first level, the dining room is to the east, while the west room is the drawing room, more commonly referred to as a family or living room. On the second floor, the east room is the master bedroom and the west room is the guest bedroom. Only the third floor, which operated as storage space during James’s life and then as children's rooms during Joseph’s life, strays from this common design.
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