While Coosawattee was older and the home of the wealthy Martins, no other town or family could rival the Vanns of "Diamond Hill," "Vann's Town," and Spring Place. No family adopted white ways to the extent that the Vanns did. Their fame, fortune, and failures are known not just in Murray County and Georgia, but across the United States. Their story is the story of the Cherokees as well as the story of Murray County in the first quarter of the 19th century.
Accounts of the first Vann to come to the Cherokee Nation vary a great deal. Some say his name was James, others say Clement, and still others compromise and say it was James Clement. Several versions of the family story report that the first Vann to come to Georgia was James Vann's father, while others feel that it was James's grandfather, a Scot trader perhaps running from the law, who entered the Cherokee Nation near its southern boundary and married a full-blooded Cherokee princess named Wawli. Some authors write that the first Vann had married Ruth Gann. A more recent genealogist proposes that two brothers began the Vann family trading business with the Cherokees. James came first but died a short time after marrying Waw-li who then married James's brother. Clement, a later arrival to the Cherokee lands. At any rate, Waw-li, the chieftain's daughter, married a Scot trader named Vann and had at least three children: Avery, James, and Nancy (according to most sources, anyway). Here the saga of the Murray County Vanns really begins.
The Vann family moved to the Murray area in the late 1700's. Since they were already well-to-do traders and farmers, the clan quickly built up vast land-holdings. Avery Vann moved back south to what became Vann's Valley in Floyd County, while James built his Murray plantation called Diamond Hill. At this time Spring Place was still merely a stopping place for hunting and trading parties.
James increased his wealth, establishing a mill, trading post, and slave cabins on Mill Creek. He is said to have built the first wagon in the Cherokee Nation. He married three wives. Jennie Foster, Elizabeth Thornton, and Margaret "Peggy" Scott (born 1783). Of the first two, one was Indian and one was white, while "Peggy" was of mixed blood. Her father had been an Indian agent for the British. James fathered five legitimate children: James, John, Sally, Delilah and, the youngest, Joseph (bom 1798), his only child by Peggy.
Mr. Vann developed quite a reputation as a fierce man, particularly when he had been drinking which was very often. Nevertheless, in 1793 he was called upon by U.S. Government Indian Agents to clear the Cherokee lands of thieves and other white men who were causing trouble. He continued in this "police" action until his death. James Vann killed many white men in duels or to enforce his authority over them. One account reports that he murdered Georgia militiaman Leonard Rice and most sources reveal that he was very strict on his workers, whites as well as slaves. He once whipped his overseer Mr. Crawford 100 strokes and tried to shoot another employee, Mr. Giger, on another occasion. He also had an overseer named Bohing at one time. His most violent action came in 1805 against a slave named Isaac. Isaac and three other blacks (two were Bob and Peter) stole $3,500 from Vann's money chest upon the instigation of a white visitor named Spencer, along with Mr. Bowen. When Isaac was captured he was burned alive while the others were shot or "strung up in a tree." Earlier, Vann had abused an elder chief and even shot his own uncle under terms of an old Cherokee blood law which demanded revenge.
Despite his fierce temper and drinking problem, James Vann did care for his mother's people, the Cherokees. He hated to see them robbed and mistreated by white intruders. He was also concerned for their education. While on a business trip to the eastern coastal cities, including Washington, D.C., he met a group of Moravian Missionaries from Salem, North Carolina. Impressed with their dedication and desire to work among the Cherokees, he promised them support—financially and physically—if they would come to Georgia and establish a school for the Cherokee children.
Vann took the plan to the other chiefs and persuaded them to allow the establishment of a mission on James Vann's property.
The Moravians were installed in two small cabins which were being vacated by a Mr. Brown and located about 1& miles from Diamond Hill between James Vann's field and his mother's field near a limestone spring. Vann promised them some new buildings and the Moravians were pleased with the arrangement—until they found that Vann was planning to build a still on the spring a short distance from the missionaries' cabins. They asked Vann about building their new mission complex on a hill just west of their present spot and he agreed, but to the missionaries' dismay, Vann soon had plans made to build a new house for himself on the hill. The missionaries then were given land a short distance southeast of the proposed spot for their mission. They were not displeased at being a distance from the home of Vann.
Vann hired a German named Vogt to design his new house, a house which would rival any house within the bounds of the Cherokee nation, a house on the scale of others Vann had seen in the east during his many travels. So while the Moravians were attempting to build their own dwellings and a school, Vann asked them to help instruct his slaves and other Indians in how to build his new brick house. All Moravians were excellent craftsmen and he must have been pleased at his choice of missionary teachers to come to his town. The work on the house began late in 1803 with most of the work being done in 1804. The Vanns moved into the newly completed house in March, 1805. Everything used in building the house was made on the site except the glass for the windows which was shipped from Savannah.
Meanwhile the Moravians had begun their school which also pleased James Vann. In sponsoring the school, Vann contributed greatly to the education of the many men who would lead the Cherokees through their most trying hours in the next two decades. Although the Moravians were interested in making Christian converts, this was difficult since the spirits of James Vann were in such close proximity.
The Moravians named the mission complex Springplace or "place of many springs" due to the large number of excellent streams in the area. The town which sprang up after Vann moved his family nearby was soon going by the name of Vann's Town. Vann reigned both as plantation owner and master as well as a town chief over the area. He had increased his wealth until he owned over 4,000 acres of land as well as operating taverns, stores, a grist mill, a sawmill, a blacksmith shop, ferries, and other types of businesses throughout the Cherokee nation. Many of his business ventures were located on the Old Federal Road, built in 1805 under his sponsorship. While the other chiefs voiced protest about building a road through the Cherokee lands, James Vann forced it through the Council—the road would be very advantageous to his businesses. His Diamond Hill complex became known as Vann's "Old Town."
However, James Vann did not get to enjoy his fine "Showplace of the Cherokee Nation" very long for his life was nearing its end. In 1807 or 1808 James killed his brother-in-law, John Falling, in a duel near Spring Place. Some say the duel came about after James abused his mother and beat his sister (Falling's wife) while she was with child. Another source mentions that Falling had been involved in the theft ring which had resulted in Isaac's death. Whatever the cause, the following account of the duel was recorded later:
Vann met Falling. He charged him with Treachery. Words ensued. A challenge passed. Such an instance never before occurred in the nation; nor has it ever occurred since.
The parties agreed !o meet at a certain cross path, where four roads intersect. They were to be armed at their own choice. Vann had a long French musquet, Falling a double bundled fowling piece; each were loaded with 21 buck shot; each well mounted.
At the hour fixed, each started at a full gallop. When they caught view of each other, each gave the war whoop, as they dashed onward. Their horses heads neatly struck together, ere they fired. The guns went off almost on the same instant. Vann's horse gave a slight dodge, and the charge grazed Vann as it passed. Falling dropped dead , ..
It caused much excitement and it was thought prudent that Vann should not be seen until the excitement could have time to cool.
The death went unavenged until February 21,1809. At this time there were loud complaints of the depredations committed in the nation by horse thieves, white and red, as well as other rogues, emanating from the whites upon the border. James Vann gathered some followers and paraded the country to punish the aggressors. They caught and flogged some of each complexion. Vann now returning from his judicial and patriotic expedition; and at Buffmgton's on the Etowah he stopped to wind up his adventures with a frolic. In the log hut tavern the interstices between the logs of which were open, he stood in the center of the group carousing. He had been at high words with some of his ancient associates-to Alexander Sanders, for one, he had been very abusive. The bottle was in one hand & he was lifting the cup of whiskey to his lips with the other. The door, which swung loosely, was silently pressed open by the point of a rifle. In an instant, James Vann was dead, and no one has ever known his slayer. He was buried at High Tower, near Blackburn's. The death of Falling by his hand had never been revenged and hence there was no search made to discover his own murderer.
The Moravian missionaries added that "after hearing the shot, Joseph (James's son) and a Negro rapidly gathered up the belongings of father and son including Vann's "pocketbook" containing . . . cash and valuable bank notes. Wrapped in a blanket Joseph and the Negro fled to his father's plantation on the Chattahoo-chee River . . . Almost frightened to death, Mrs. Vann and her parents-in-law fled to Buffmgton's at dawn." The body had already been buried in an old nearby cemetery when they arrived.
Reaction to Vann's death was mixed. Mrs. Vann and "Mother" Vann were distraut for weeks as were other members of the Vann household. The missionaries wrote:
Thus ended the life of one who was feared by many and loved by few in the 41st year of his life ...
Vann had been an instrument in the hand of God for establishing our mission in this nation. Never in his wildest orgies had he attempted to harm us. We could not but commend his soul to God's mercy.
They had lost their "greatest friend and benefactor."
According to legend a rhyme was placed on his marker which said "Here lies the body of James Vann who killed many a white man. At last by a rifle ball he fell and the Devil dragged his soul to Hell." Ebenezer Newton, the 1818 traveler, gave this report of the inscription: "here lies the body of James Vann who departed this life Feb. 1809 aged 43. This man was once a Chief of the Cherokee Nation, and was considered a great man among them, and was very rich. But his greatness and his riches could not ward off the stroke of death.
He lies a monument of greatness lost and an evidence of the frailty & mutability of Man, whether he be white or red."
James Vann had expected to leave his vast holdings to his young son, Joseph, but the Council of Chiefs intervened to divide the property between his widow and all his children. Nevertheless, the 11-year-old Joseph inherited the bulk of his father's estate. Joseph grew up. married, and began his family as master of the Vann House. Upon reaching legal age, he received full title to the plantation and made many improvements in the house and on the land. He was an even better businessman than his father and won the nickname "Rich Joe" because he had a cousin also named Joseph who was not quite as wealthy. (The cousin was Teaultle or "Big Joe.") Rich Joe had been educated at the Moravian School and in South Carolina. At the young age of 16 he had joined other Cherokees and Americans under the command of Andrew Jackson to defeat the Creeks at Horseshoe Bend, Alabama, during the War of 1812. The "Cherokee Croesus" was a representative of the Coosawattee District (along with John Martin) in the Cherokee legislature. He was also a delegate to Washington. D.C., as the Indians sought governmental recognition. The 6-feet-6 man had two wives, Jennie Springston and Polly Black. His children were James Springston, Mary, John Shepherd, Delilah, Henry Clay, Sally, David, Nancy, William, Jane Elizabeth and Joe.
In 1819 Joseph entertained President James Monroe at Spring Place when the President made a trip through the South. Both James and Joseph left their doors open to any visitors and. like his father. Joseph also loved to drink, but apparently was not quite so beliggerent. Lewis Richardson, a descendant of an old area family and now a resident of Gainesville, wrote (his account of the presidential visit:
The tour of James Monroe through the Southeast and the Cherokee Nation in 1819 is of interest for two reasons. He was the firsl President to visit what is now Murray County and the travel arrangements, the size of the party and the lack of publicity is in startling contrast to similar Presidential tours today.
Monroe made this southern joumey for three reasons. First, to review the defenses of the young nation along the coast and on the southern frontier; second, for political purposes. As do all politicians, he welcomed the chance to meet people and to promote the policies of his administration and his party. His last objective was to view the work of the Government and the private Missions in the Cherokee country. Monroe was a compassionate man and sympathized with the plight of the native Americans. He believed that with the help of tools and implements supplied by the Government, by teaching the older Indians the arts of agriculture and by educating the young, the Indian problem would cease to exist. On this trip he would see for himself how well his policies were working.
There were only (hree in the original group, the President; his secretary, Samuel Gouvernor and his military aide, Lt. Monroe, It was almost a family affair. Lt. Monroe was the son of the President's brother, Joseph, and, in the following year, Gouvernor would marry Hester Maria, the President's youngest daughter. In the course of the journey, this small group would be augmented by numerous politicians, military officers, office holders and assorted notables. Most would travel only a short distance and would be replaced by others in each new town.
The party left Washington, April 1, 1819 and proceeded to Savannah by slow stages. From the Georgia coast they went northwest through the State, arriving in Athens, May 21st, seven weeks from Washington. The next morning they traveled to Jefferson in Jackson County where they partook of a "noon dinner" provided by the citizens of the village.
From this point they would follow the Federal Road into Tennessee. That afternoon, they crossed the Georgia State line and entered the Cherokee Nation. The Chattahoochee River was crossed at Vann's Ferry and they spent the night in the village on the west bank. The Ferry and the Tavern in the Indian village had been opened by James Vann about 1805. (The old Tavern building has been moved to New Echota State Park, near Calhoun,)
The 24th of May was spent in crossing present Forsyth County. That night they forded the Etowah River and slept at Lewis Blackburn's Tavern about a half mile west of the river. Ten years before, James Vann had been murdered near Blackburn's place and he is said to lest in the Blackburn Cemetery nearby.
The next day, the route was west, then north to the crossing of Long Swamp Creek, just east of Tate, in present Pickens County.
On the 26th, the travelers continued through Pickens County, passing the Indian village Of Sanderstown. They arrived in Spring Place late in the evening, unexpectedly, and the Moravians recorded the event:
May 25, 1819. Very late In the evening, Mr. James Monroe came with the overseer. Brodewell, to announce that the President of the United States and his party had arrived at Joseph Vann's. We were told by James Monroe that because so many were in his party that they did not wish to worry us for a night's lodging. The President had sent him to tell us thai he was in the neighborhood and that he would like to see Br. Gambald before the party leaves the next moming. The overseer asked for several lights for the company.
The "Mr. Monroe" was, of course, Lt. Monroe, The President's announced reason for not stopping at the Mission may be classed as a polite subterfuge. He was acquainted with Joe Vann, and the prospect of staying in the comfortable Vann home rather than the austere quarters of the missionaries is understandable. He did take time the next morning to inspect the Indian school and expressed his satisfaction with the work of the Brothers. There is no evidence of Federal aid having been offered or solicited. The Moravians were self sufficient.
Later in the day, the party left Spring Place, going northwest to the old crossing of the Conasauga River, later known as the Chattanooga Ford. In present Whitfield County, they crossed the Coahulla Creek below the site of Prater's Mill and spent the next night at Richard Taylor's Tavern, just east of present Ringgold. Early the next afternoon, they arrived at Brainerd Mission, again unheraJded.
The party lefl Brainerd on May 27th and visited Winchester, Huntsville, Fayette-ville, Murfreesboro and Shelbyville before calling on Gen. Jackson at the Hermitage. They arrived in Nashville, June 13th.
When they left the Tennessee Capitol, the route was north to Frankfort and Lexington, then east to Washington where they arrived on Sunday moming, the 8th of August. They had traveled about 5,000 miles in four months.
The long journey was unremarkable, except for the distinguished participants, for that period in our history. Two factors however, make it almost unbelievable by present-day standards. First, the trip was accomplished with so little attention. Newspapers of the day gave the President little space, even in those towns he was visiting. In fact, for the time between the departure of the group from Jefferson the arrival at Jackson's home near Nashville, the nation had no idea of the President's whereabouts.
Even more astonishing, the four month junket cost the taxpayers nothing! In those days, "Traveling Presidents sponged, like royalty, on the local gentry, (and) accepted free transportation from the mail contractors . . .
Some say that Andrew Jackson, John C. Calhoun, and Sam Houston might have also visited Spring Place.
By the 1820's the Cherokees had discarded the traditional Indian clan system of ruling a tribe, with an indefinite number of clan and town chiefs making up the council. Instead, they patterned their government after that of the United States with a written constitution and a republican form of control with four delegates from each of the eight districts making up the National Council.
The capital was moved from Tennessee to New Echota, near present-day Calhoun in Gordon County, and since the Vanns lived on the major thoroughfare through the land, many of the visitors to Council at New Echota stopped at Vann's Town and Spring Place for refreshment. The Cherokees also had a written language, thanks to Sequoyah, and in 1826 established the only newspaper printed by an American Indian tribe–the Cherokee Phoenix. The Cherokees were very advanced-thanks to leaders like the Vanns.
But all was not to last for the wealthy Vanns and their Cherokee brothers. Gold had been discovered in the mountains of North Georgia and the white citizens of Georgia began demanding immediate removal of the Indians so that they could take the gold from the Indians who had known of its existence for many decades. Georgia had surrendered its claim to western lands to the Federal government in 1802 with the concession that all Indians would be removed from its borders. The Creeks in South and Middle Georgia had been moved already, but until now no one had wanted the mountain land of the Cherokees. The demands of the State of Georgia now found a listener in Washington-Andrew Jackson. The Cherokees would be removed he said and the State began passing a series of laws extending its authority over the Cherokees.
Without waiting for the Federal government to remove the Cherokees, white Georgians began moving in to claim their property. Inevitably Joseph Vann and his fine home became involved in the "land grab-" At this time his holdings in Georgia included 800 acres of cultivated land, 42 cabins, eight com cribs, six barns, a sawmill, the grist mill, five smokehouses, a blacksmith shop, a foundary, a trading post, a peach kiln. 1,133 peach trees, 147 apple trees, a whiskey still, 110 slaves, and "other property" besides the house.
In the fall of 1833 Joseph left on a business trip, but before leaving he "employed a Mr. Howell, a white man, to oversee for him in the year 1834—to commence on the first day of January, 1834. He returned about the 28th or 29th of December. 1833, and learning that Georgia had prohibited any Cherokee from hiring a white man. told Mr. Howell he did not want his services. Yet Mr. Bishop, the State's agent, represented to the authorities of Georgia that Mr. Vann had violated the laws of that state by hiring a white man. had forfeited his right of occupancy and that a grant ought to issue for his lands."
In February, 1835, Bishop, who happened to command a militia unit of the "Georgia Guard," arrived at Vann's with a detachment of soldiers to take possession of the house. A white boarder. Spencer Riley, claimed the house as his and a battle resulted between the rival claimants while the Vann family huddled within the house. Gunfire was exchanged before Bishop ordered that a small fire be built on the stairway to smoke out Riley. Riley left-for the time being!
Since the winter was not yet over, the Vanns moved to a small farm Joseph owned near Ooletewah, Tennessee. They lived there until about 1836 and Vann built a racetrack where he raced his favorite horse "Lucy Walker." The family then moved on to Indian Territory, Oklahoma, where Joseph began operating a steamboat line. Named for his racehorse, the boat had been docked at Ross's Landing (Chattanooga, Tennessee) when Vann lived in Georgia. Now the goods it carried helped the dispossessed merchant reaccumulate his wealth.
As early as 1834 Vann began legal proceedings against those who had taken his property. Though the case began in Murray County Superior Court, not until 1840 did he receive payment for his land-after his claim went to the Federal government. He received S19,60S for all his Georgia holdings; his Murray County property alone had been valued at over 518,000 in 1836. Nevertheless, according to the government, the claim was settled.
The Vanns made Webber Falls their Oklahoma residence and built a replica of the Spring Place mansion there. Unfortunately, Federal troops destroyed this western Vann House in 1863 during the War Between the States. However, by that time Joseph Vann, like his father, had met a tragic end.
In the fall of 1844 Vann went on what was both a business and a pleasure trip to Louisville, Kentucky. "The Lucy Walker," under the command of Captain Hadderman, was laden with produce from Vann's plantations. After selling these goods and buying wood, coffee, gunpowder, calico, linen, etc. to take back to Oklahoma, Joseph, along with friends and business associates went to a horse race. Some say Vann's Lucy Walker was in the race and won. At any rate, Vann and his guests returned to the steamboat to celebrate.
Soon. Joseph was drunk and in a rage quarrelled with Captain Hadderman over just who really ran the ship. As the return trip was about to begin, the captain, who had had enough, walked off the ship. Vann decided to be his own captain and ordered the vessel to set forth.
Vann's valet. Percy, was still serving drinks to his master's guests when another boat, the "Firefly," eased past the "Lucy Walker." To the intoxicated Vann, this marked the beginning of a race! He ordered that some salt pork be put on the fire to create more steam and slowly his own vessel passed the "Firefly." However, the "Lucy Walker" had to stop at New Albany on the Indiana shore to let off some of the guests and the "Firefly" steamed past. When Vann's craft resumed the race, he ordered more steam. A servant, Nebuchadnezzar, protested that the boiler was taking all the steam it could, saying, "But Massa' Vann, if I t'rows dat [more meat] in dere, dem b'ilers is goin' to splode an' blow us all to Hell!" The angry, drunken, self-appointed captain replied, "If they do, we'll all go together and if you don't I'll blow you there by yourself!" "Nebby" threw the meat on the fire, jumped overboard, and by his account was the only survivor of the explosion which occurred seconds later. Some bodies, including that of Vann's youthful son-in-law Preston Mackey were recovered, but not Joseph Vann's.
Meanwhile the Vann House in Spring Place was suffering through rough times. Captain Bishop took possession of the place, and then rented it to his brother, Absalom. The actual owner of the house was Revolutionary War veteran Thomas Turley of Warren County who had drawn lot 224 (9th District, 3rd Section) in the land lottery. Mr. Turley died soon after and in 1837 the administrators of his estate, J.R. and Jane Brooks, authorized none other than Spencer Riley to sell the Vann property for them. At last Riley got the upper hand over the Bishops! He sold the 160-acre lot to Alexander Shotwell of Decatur County and then purchased the house, kitchen, barn, orchards, and one-third of the land from Shotwell for himself.
Barely a year later Riley sold his prize to a Roger McCarthay who in 1840 surrendered title to the Bank of the State of Georgia. For the next decade the Bank officially owned the house but several people occupied it. Apparently at one time it was a sort of hotel. George Wacaser lived in the house once as did the Charles Warmacks (1846). Joseph B. Smith also tried to purchase the house during this era. Finally in January, 1S49 the Bank deeded the house to Benjamin Snider and Henry Weed.
By 1852 James Edmondson. who had come to Murray County very early, owned the house. For the next 11 years the home was once again the center of an extensive plantation as former Edmondson slave Levi Branham recorded in his My Life and Travels years later. During the Civil War Mr. Edmondson refugeed to South Georgia after selling the Vann property to William H. Tibbs, a Tennessee Confederate of some means who had recently arrived in Spring Place and had begun to accumulate large land holdings.
In 1866 Tibbs deeded the Vann House to his son and daughter-in-law. Jacob and Lavinia. They used the house as rental property at least part of the time for the Stephen John Howard family occupied the house in 1873. John Bryant bought the place in 1875 and sold it 2 years later to Oscar and Esther Coins.
The Coins couple resided in the house for some years and for some time it even look the name "Coins Hill." During their ownership the outside kitchen, dating back to the Vann era. was dismantled. Some say that it also was a two-story brick house smaller and not as well built as the Vann House, Its second floor had lately been used for a ballroom. The Coins built a one-story frame building on the same spot and added a kitchen to the north side of the Vann House. They also constructed a large barn west of the house (across the road).
On the interior, Mrs. Coins is said to have sold some of the hinges for $5 a set and removed some original carvings of scorpions, snakes, lizards, and frogs from tops of mantels.
Mrs Thomas (Nannie) Dill, a friend of the Coins family, became the owner Of the Vann House in October, 1895. From 1901 until 1906 Mr. C.T. Owens technically owned the house although Mrs. Dill continued to live there for a time Mr. D.D. Kemp bought the house in 1906 and his family moved in the following year. C.E. Dooley was me owner from 1914 until 1917 and sold it to jW Sellers. Dr. J.E. Bradford, who bought the house in 1920, owned the house longer than anyone-even the Vanns. Dr. Bradford used the house for rental purposes as had several of the earlier owners. Countless people occupied tile house during this era. Among those remembered are the W.L. Roberts, W.G. Blassingame, Pritchett. John Cox (1927-30), Jim Jones (1926), Morrison (1940's), and Jase Jones (1945) families.
Over the years all the Vann plantation buildings had disappeared and the porches on the house itself had been changed several times. By 1950 the house was in very poor condition. The roof was gone; parts of the floor had collapsed; the brick arches over the doors had cracked; and every window pane had been shattered by vandals. Therefore, various groups began discussing the possibilities of restoring the Vann House as a shrine to the Cherokees.
The Chatsworth Lions Club sent a committee to see Dr. Bradford in hopes of obtaining an option to purchase the house if Bradford were not going to restore it himself After the committee was turned down, V.C. Pickering, a state official, offered to buy the place. He too was refused. Then in 1948 a Chamber of Commerce which became Chatsworth Enterprises, was founded. The group's officers, consisting of President J.T. (Dick) Kenemer, Vice President Charles A. Pannell. Sr and Secretary-Treasurer R.E. Chambers, comprised a Vann House Restoration Committee. For 2 years these men tried to interest Dr. Bradford in a plan to restore the rapidly deteriorating Vann House, but could not do so. Finally Mr Pannell contacted members of the Georgia Historical Society feeling that outside help would convince Dr. Bradford to sell the property.
Dr. A.R. Kelly of the University of Georgia Department of Anthropology and Archeology and consultant Dr. Joe Mahan met with the committee, examined the Vann House, and agreed that Dr. Kelly would talk with Dr. Bradford. When the two met, Dr. Bradford explained why he had refused earlier offers. The Doctor felt that those groups which were financially able to carry out the project were more interested in making a profit than in preserving the landmark and that those who cared the most did not have the resources needed. He had been particularly bothered by a proposal by a Dalton group which said "The Vann House, in its present location, would never pay back its restorers. Therefore , . . recommended that it be moved and restored at Dalton, which needs an outstanding tourist attraction, and could commercialize on this property ..." The plan would have made the Vann House a drawing card to sell bedspreads! Dr. Bradford told Dr. Kelly that he would consider the new proposal.
In the meantime Mrs. Sidney H. (Gertrude) Ruskin of Decatur, a leader in the District Womans Club, unaware of the efforts already underway, called a public meeting for October 10, 1951 for the purpose of acquiring the Vann House. Held at Atlanta's Henry Grady Hotel, the meeting was attended by a large delegation from North Georgia and prominent Atlanta people, including Ivan Allen, Sr. a native of Dalton whose ancestors had lived in Spring Place. The result of this meeting was that the committee, now including Dr. Kelly, could arrange for an option to purchase the Vann House in the name of the Georgia Historical Commission, newly created by the Legislature to take important landmarks out of private hands for public ownership.
Dr. Kelly visited Dr. Bradford on December 27, 1951 and left with a handwritten "Memorandum of Agreement for option for Purchase of Vann House:... It is agreed that the owner will give an option to purchase of this property for the cash payment of six thousand dollars, of which the owner will give one thousand dollars. It is further agreed that the owner will be paid five hundred dollars in^advance, to be applied on the purchase price, at the time the option is signed." The first $500 was raised in Murray County and on January 3, 1952 the option was signed.
During the next six months many people across the state worked many hours to raise the needed 4,500. Dr. Kelly worked in Athens, Mrs. Ruskin, Mrs. Kooert Jones, and Mr. Allen in the Atlanta area, and Miss Agnes Kemp, a one-time Vann House resident, in Spring Place. Her students pooled their nickels to make a contribution to the cause.
Mr. Chambers and Mr. T.W. Kenemer called a meeting of interested citizens in Dalton on February 19. 1952. This meeting resulted in the formation of the Whit field-Murray Historical Society, Mrs. B.J. Bandy of Dalton was elected president and became the driving force behind the Vann House Restoration. She was joined by Mr. Kenemer, Odell Ingle, Mrs. W.M. Sapp, Mrs. A.K. Gregory, Miss Mary Louise Horan. Blanche Gardner, and the original committee in fund-raising efforts. They got an extension on the deadline, but made the $4,500 payment only 2 days late. On July S, 1952 the Vann House and three acres of land became the property of the State of Georgia. The restoration began.
After making emergency repairs the Historical Commission and the Historical Society began researching to find information about the house and its original owners. From April through June, 1953 Clemens de Baillou conducted an archeological investigation at the Vann House. Brick walkways were uncovered along with signs of a kitchen, a guesthouse, and an office to the east of the house. In 1956 a 120-year-old cabin of Indian origin was reconstructed on the site of the Vann "harness and tack" shop. South of the house were a blacksmith shop and stables as well as a garden. Slave cabins were probably located farther south. The carriage drive was uncovered on the north side and marked the original entrance to the house. The site of the brick kilns where the bricks for the house were made was uncovered near the Bradford Spring.
Since the Vann House was the first project either of the historical groups had undertaken, progress on the house itself was slower. Odell Ingle was selected to be the contractor for the repairs as designed by restoration architect Henry Forman of Easton. Maryland. Frum a painting of the house as it was in 1884, the men learned that the house had originally had gabled porches though later owners had changed them several times. The porches were rebuilt; the more recent kitchen addition was removed; plaster was replaced; missing hinges and locks were reproduced; damaged flooring was replaced; broken glass was replaced; and original doors, trim and wainscoting were copied. Interior decorator Marjorie Rhodes spent hours scraping through layers of paint and wallpaper (19 in some places) to find the original colors of the woodwork. The house was then repainted with the colors of nature-blue for the sky, green for the grass and trees, yellow for ripened grain, and red for the rich Georgia clay. A safety rod was added to the mysterious hanging or floating stairway, the oldest example of cantilevered construction in Georgia, but workmen did not discover the secret of the stairway which originally had no visible means of support. Cherokee Roses adorn the house both inside and out.
Furnishing the house was not an easy task. Franco Scalamandre of New York's Scalamandre Silk Mills donated $10,000 worth of fabric for draperies and upholstery. Ivan Allen donated several pieces of furniture from the old Chester Inn in Spring Place. Other pieces were purchased or donated and loaned by other individuals. Finally by July 27, 1958 the house was ready for a great day of dedication. Some 42 descendants of the Vann family and dignitaries from across the country gathered on the hill to hear addresses by Secretary of State Ben Fortson and Governor Marvin Griffin. More than 6,000 people visited the house that day.
In the course of the restoration and during research since that time, many important facts about the house have been uncovered and legends proven false. The bricks were made on the farm; only the glass had to be brought from Savannah. According to tradition James Vann had visited England, Charleston, Boston. New York, and Savannah where he saw the type of furnishings he wanted. Robert Howell, an Englishman, was the brick mason. Moravian missionaries Byhan and Schneider, both excellent craftsmen, helped build the house. Their influence is particularly evident in the Christian doors whose top contains a cross and whose bottom represents an open Bible. There is no secret passageway from the third floor to the basement and the third floor coffin-shaped rooms were bedrooms for the children, not secret council rooms. The only secret compartments in the house are drawers beneath two windows in the dining room which were used for storing silver and tableware. The basement was sometimes used as a prison for slaves that misbehaved while another room was a storage area and wine cellar.
Mrs. Bandy hoped to find the grave of James Vann and move the remains to Spring Place. Mrs. Heard of Forsyth County remembered seeing the grave as a child. Located in the Blackburn cemetery near the tavern where Vann was killed, the cemetery was later used as a Negro burial ground. In 1959 Mrs. Heard had described the area where the grave was. Three years later Mrs. Bandy, Raymond Vann (a descendant), and two experienced excavators looked for the exact spot. Eventually a grave site was found and excavated. Several buttons, nails, screws, a buckle, and two rings were found along with the skeleton. Authorities with the Historical Commission examined the evidence and felt that the remains were those of a male, but were much too recent to be those of James Vann. Mrs. Bandy was firmly convinced that they were the remains of Mr. Vann and buried a small box of the Forsyth County ashes at the Vann House, a small disiance southwest of the reconstructed cabin.
Another accomplishment of the early preservationists was the designation of Georgia 225 between Spring Place and Calhoun as the "Chief Joseph Vann Highway," The authorizing legislation was passed in 1955 under the sponsorship of Representatives Fred Long of Murray County and Henry Mauldin of Gordon County.
Dr. Bradford once estimated that the cost of building the Vann House was about $10,000. Excluding the purchase price, the initial restoration bills totaled at least $75,000. Since 1958 several improvements have been made at the beautiful historic site which has been under the operation of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Parks and Historic Sites Division since the Historical Commission was abolished in 1973. Soon after the dedication additional furniture reproductions were placed in the house and in 1962 a log kitchen was reconstructed just east of the house. Due to structural and historical problems the building was dismantled in 1965. In 1968 five more acres of land were purchased from the Bradford Estate and in 1985 fifteen additional acres, including the springs, were obtained. Lightning protection was installed in 1973 and in that same decade a security system, window light shields, new draperies and upholstery, and further landscaping were added to the house and site. A climate-control system designed to preserve the house and furniture has since been installed. Several paint jobs and repair work have kept the National Register of Historic Places site looking grand. In 1981 the house was included in a Georgia Historic Homes cookbook and has been featured in countless periodicals and on television and radio. Mr. R.E, Chambers donated his papers relating to the purchase and restoration to the site in 1978.
Visitation at the Vann House has consistently ranked in the top four of all Georgia Historic Sites. Several special programs have brought additional attention to the Vann House in recent years. For several years students from Spring Place Elementary School performed a drama highlighting President Monroe's visit and the eviction of the Vanns. C.L. Dunn and Frances Townsend directed these plays. In 1978 two annual events were begun-Vann House Days in July in commemoration of the restoration and the Moravian Christmas featuring candlelight tours. Local volunteers and groups such as the Garden Club, Woman's Club, the Sheriffs Auxiliary, and the Historical Society have contributed to the success of these programs. Lela Latch Lloyd who authored the book // The Chief Vann House Could Speak frequently visits the site and meets some of the 14.000 guests who enter the gate each year. R.E. Ellis was the first curator of the Vann House. Present Superintendent James E. Hall and his wife Pat have cared for the site and greeted guests for 15 and 20 years respectively. Others who have worked at the site for several years are Mildred Ellis, France Adams, and Tim Howard.
Today, the Federal-style mansion boasts a sleigh bed from Carters Quarter, a table that is said to have been used by Alexander Stephens and novelist Will Harbin, a canopy bed that was possibly owned by General P.G.T. Beauregard.a corner cabinet and chair from the pioneer Bates family, an 1825 Rosewood piano loaned by Inez Gurley, and a reproduction of Chief John Ross's dining room table, a gift of Mr. & Mrs. R.G. McCamy of Dalton. The Vann House has often been called me "Showplace of the Cherokee Nation" and it is certainly that. However, it is more; it's the Showplace of Murray County.
Murray County Heritage