Archaeologists from Wake Forest University conducted archaeological survey and test investigations at the Chief Vann Historic Site in Spring Place, Murray County, Georgia in March 2005. Prominent within the historic site is the two-story brick house that was the home of James Vann, a prosperous Cherokee planter of the late eighteenth century. Constructed in 1804-1806, the house was the center of a large plantation containing more than 800 acres. After James Vann was murdered in 1809, the plantation was owned by Vann's son, Joseph Vann, who occupied the house until the Cherokee Removal of the 1830s.
Archaeological investigations included survey of an 85-acre tract of land located west of the Chief Vann Historic Site that was recently acquired by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, and archaeological testing of the Spring Place Moravian Mission site, located east of the historic site. This report summarizes the results of the archaeological survey and testing activities, and provides an assessment of archaeological sites that were identified or investigated in the investigations. Recommendations regarding continued archaeological research at the Chief Vann Historic Site are proposed.
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