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Photo 2: John Ross House.

This log house is located in Rossville, Georgia, on the Georgia-Tennessee border near Chattanooga. It consists of two rooms on each floor separated by a central breezeway, now enclosed, and was built in the 1790s by John Ross's grandfather. Ross lived here with his grandparents as a boy and the house later served as a headquarters for the enterprises that made him a rich man. The property also included a large farm, worked by slaves. Ross also owned a supply depot and warehouse at Ross's Landing (now in Chattanooga).

Questions for Photo 2

1. Before it was enlarged, Major Ridge's house probably looked much like this house. Does the Ross house look like the home of a rich man?

2. In 1826, Ross moved to a large plantation near Rome, Georgia, only about a mile from Major Ridge. Why do you suppose he moved there?

3. In 1832, Ross returned from a trip to Washington to find that his plantation had been taken over by Georgia whites who had won it in the lottery for Cherokee land. He moved back into this house, where he stayed until removal. How do you think he would have felt returning to his old home under these circumstances?

* The image on this screen has a resolution of 72 dots per inch (dpi), and therefore will print poorly. You can obtain a larger version of Photo 2, but be aware that the file will take as much as 45 seconds to load with a 28.8K modem.