Chief Vann House Historic Site — Attraction in Georgia

I am a travel writer for National Park Planner and I visited the Chief Vann House Historic Site, an official site on the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, in April, 2013. The park is part of the Georgia State Park system. It is comprised of the Vann family mansion and grounds, which contain various out buildings of the 1800s time period. There is also a Visitor Center that houses a small museum about the Vann family, plus historic and natural history exhibits from the area, such as arrowheads and fossils. In addition, there is an interesting documentary film about the Vann family. The mansion and grounds are open to the public for tours on specific days of the week. There is a fee for tours. Check the Vann House web site for details.

I suggest beginning your tour of the park by watching the short documentary about the Vann Family, which is shown in the Visitor Center’s small movie theater. The film lasts about fifteen minutes and is shown on demand. It is full of information about the Vann Family, the mansion, and their forced removal by the government during the Trail of Tears period. There are some exhibits in the theater which you can view after the movie.

For those interested in learning more about the Vann family, following the film you can visit the museum. Housed in a medium size room, you can read all of the information and see all of the exhibits in roughly a half hour. The exhibits in the museum cover the history of the Vann Family and their house. Trail of Tears history is covered mainly in reference to the Vann Family saga.

To tour the Vann House, you must go on a Ranger guided tour. There are no set times for house tours and no minimum group size. Visitation is low, so as soon as a Park Ranger is available, a tour will be given—even if you are the only person. When I arrived, the Ranger was currently giving a tour and I was told that as soon as she got done with her group that she would take me for a tour. While waiting for a Ranger I explored the museum and exhibits. A tour of the mansion lasts around twenty to thirty minutes, so if you just missed a tour, you should not have to wait for more than a half hour for the next one.

The Ranger will take you through the house at your pace, meaning that if you want to spend more time in a particular room, feel free to do so. Photography is allowed, so take your time and get the photos you want.

Once done with the mansion tour, you are free to roam the grounds and visit the out buildings on your own. None of the buildings are original to the property, but most are historic structures transported from the surrounding areas of Georgia to the Vann property. All are buildings representative of the time. There are corn cribs, a reproduction of the kitchen that was manned by the Vann Family slaves (yes, the Indians had black slaves), and historic Cherokee Indian log cabins. The Ranger pointed out that Indians of the area and era did not live in T-pees, but log cabins just like everybody else. The buildings are furnished with period furniture, equipment, and tools. There are no actual Vann Family furnishings, as the Vanns took everything with them when the were forced to move to Oklahoma.

The tour and exploration of the grounds should take no more than an hour. There is also a trail opposite the entrance to the Visitor Center that takes you to a pond on the property. Allow fifteen to twenty minutes for the round trip visit. Factoring in the park film and museum, plan to spend no more than three hours for a thorough tour of the Chief Vann House Historic Site. You can breeze through the site in around an hour.

For complete information and plenty of photos on this and other Trail of Tears sites, please visit National Park...

I have driven by signs for the Vann House many times, and actually drove by it a couple of times without realizing it. I was surprised when I realized it wasn't where I thought it was. The Vann Family played an integral part of Georgia, and American History. James Vann was a "Half-Breed," born into his mother's clan. He was a shrewd businessman. He was major land owner, and owned 100 slaves. In the early 1800's, Vann was murdered at a tavern in Forsyth County, GA. His son, Joseph eventually took over the family farm until being forced out by the State Militia. Joe owned many taverns & steam boats. He met his death in a steamboat explosion.

It is important to note, the VANN HOUSE Hours; Thursday-Saturday: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Sundays: 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. December-March closed on Sundays.

The Vann House can only be viewed through guided tours, offered at the top of every hour. Last daily tour begins at 4 p.m.

Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Year's Day.

While there is handicap parking, many of the buildings, including the Vann House, are NOT Wheelchair accessible. There are several picnic tables on the grounds. I would advise watching the interpretive video first, and visiting the small museum area. The tours are limited, so note those times. There many interpretive placards along the walk. There is also a short nature trail, if...

We got here a little early be warned gates don't open til it's time for them too. We were waiting when she opened them early because first person in line was a new employee. We sat waiting for them to open & then got to watch the 15 minute film to get a feel of the area & then walked up to the house it was 3 stories & a celler. It use to have what was called a free floating staircase but due to time it's know got a beam holding it up & the colors are original I had to ask lol. The 2nd & 3rd floors were bedrooms & then they have about 4 outbuildings for you to look through. They also have a small museum to also browse throught. A great stop & well worth it could add to a trip to New Echota which is about 15 minutes away they have...