Historic home opens for Vann House Days

The Chief Vann House State Historic Site near Chatsworth, Ga., is located at the intersection of Highways 255 and 52A.
The Chief Vann House State Historic Site near Chatsworth, Ga., is located at the intersection of Highways 255 and 52A.

Since 1978, Friends of the Vann House has annually opened the doors of the historic Chief Vann House in Murray County, Ga., for Vann House Days.

Vann House Days features living-history demonstrations that showcase arts and crafts of the 1800s - skills residents would have used while living and working at the circa-1804 home. A day-trip to Chatsworth, Ga., for the program is interesting for all ages in the family, as well as a history lesson for children that's fun as well as educational.

On Saturday, July 22, local craftsmen will demonstrate 19th-century weaving, basket making, quilting, spinning, blacksmithing, black-powder shooting, chair caning and woodcarving. Local musicians playing music from the era will be featured Sunday afternoon, July 23.

Docents will guide visitors through the Vann mansion, its outbuildings and the Cherokee homestead on both days.

The Chief Vann House was the first brick residence in the Cherokee Nation, owned by Cherokee Chief James Vann. The house is a Georgia Historic Site on the National Register of Historic Places and one of the oldest remaining structures in North Georgia.

Its exterior walls (which are around 18 inches thick) and the interior walls (8 inches thick) are solid brick, made of clay from the Vann House property. Handwrought nails and hinges came from the Vann blacksmith shop. The house is a combination of late Federal architecture and early Georgian.

The R.E. Chambers Visitor Center will feature a short film and interpretive exhibits on the Vann family and the Cherokee nation each day.

The Vann House is located three miles west of Chatsworth, Ga., at the intersection of state Highways 52A and 225.

If you go

› What: Vann House Days› Where: Chief Vann House, 82 Highway 225 North, Chatsworth, Ga.› When: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, July 22; noon-4 p.m. Sunday, July 23› Admission: $6.50 adults, $6 senior adults, $5.50 youth ages 6-18, free for children under 6› For more information: 706-695-2598.

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