Ross Homestead - Rossville, GA
N 34° 58.876 W 085° 17.093
16S E 656551 N 3872309
Built in 1797, owned by Principal Chief of Cherokee. Is an integral home in the establishment of the area.
Waymark Code: WM762X
Location: Georgia, United States
Date Posted: 09/07/2009
Views: 6
"Ross Home (open), Government St one block L of post office, is an unpainted, weather-beaten clapboard house that has been alterd but little since its erection about 1770 by the scottish grandfather of John ross. Ite severe simplicity is somewhat relieved by a front porch and a stone end chimney.
In this house John Ross (1790-1866) kept a post office after he had come to the village as a young man, and there is an unsubstantiated story that an underground passage connects the dwelling with a cave where Cherokee leaders held secret councils. Ross, whose Indian name was Kooweskowe, was only one-eight Cherokee and served under Andrew Jackson, but he steadfastly defended the rights of the Indians to their lands and accompanied them in the Removal of 1838. His wife, a fullblooded Cherokee, was among the many who died on the march. He devoted his entire life to the education and mechanical training of the exiled people."
--Georgia: A Guide to its Cities and Countryside, 1940
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At the time of visit (5/13/2006) the area served as park space and the home was largely fenced off. The text of the nearby Georgia Historic Marker is below:
This comfortable two-story log house was the home of Cherokee Chief John Ross from boyhood until he went west over the "Trail of Tears," losing his Indian wife enroute. Although only one-eight Indian himself, Ross was elected "Principal Chief" of the Cherokee Nation for 40 years and their advocate for justice for 57 years. He voluntarily chose exile with his people.
In the War of 1812, ross served with a regiment of Cherokees under Gen. Andrew Jackson against the Creek allies of the English. This House was built in 1797 by John McDonald, grandfather of John Ross.
