The house has no features to show that it was built by a Cherokee. This design reflects the attitude of Ridge that had adapted to the American way of life by abandoning indigenous customs.
Major Ridge (1771 - 1839) was a Cherokee leader who was noted for:
He was a member of the tribal council and legislator.
He supported acculturation.
He became a wealthy planter, slave owner, and boatman in Georgia.
He signed the passage of the controversial New Echota Treaty of 1835, which handed over the Cherokee territory to the United States government.
He was sentenced to death and murdered in 1839 under the Cherokee Blood Act.
Regarding the house Ridge lived in, it is a two-story white log home located on his 223-acre plantation on Cha.tillon, Rome, Georgia.
This house differs greatly from the structure of the traditional houses of the Cherokee culture because they were built in the shape of a pyramid with a circular base covered with leather made from animal skins.
