John Ross House in Rossville
photo by Earl Freudenberg
The current Chief John Ross House Association president says the historic house in Rossville would be better off with the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma.
Larry Rose Jr. said, "Who better would there be to take care of the house and be stewards of it than the Cherokee Nation?"
Mr. Rose said current Cherokee Nation Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. has made visits to the house. He said additional visits by Cherokee officials are planned in September.
He said Cherokee officials would like to move the house next to the Chief John Ross Museum that is just outside Tahlequah, the Cherokee capital in Oklahoma.
Mr. Rose said the house, that is by the "Duck Pond" in Rossville, is owned by the association, while the land is owned by the city of Rossville.
He said his father long tended to the house, but is no longer able to. Mr. Rose, who visits the house several times each day to check on it, has also faced health issues.
Noting that vagrants often camp near the log house, he said he is continually vigilant to try to keep it protected.
The house is believed to have been built around 1797 and to be the oldest surviving structure in Northwest Georgia. It was the home of John McDonald, a Scottish immigrant who was among the first to come into the Indian Nation as a trader. His grandson was John Ross.
Mr. Rose said his father has always been interested in history and joined the John Ross House Association, eventually becoming president.
He noted that the house was moved before - in the early 1960s from its original location on Rossville Boulevard by John Ross Pharmacy and a cleaners.
Mr. Ross said of the planned move to Oklahoma, "We're doing what's right for the house."
Early view of the John Ross House
photo by