Candlelight tours of Gordon-Lee Mansion

The stately GordonLee Mansion, 217 Cove Road in Chickamauga, Georgia, will open for candlelight tours on two weekends beginning Friday, Dec. 6.

From 6 to 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, Dec. 6-7 and 13-14, the circa1847 mansion will be decorated in arrangements of fresh greenery, berries and fruit, all illuminated by the glow of hundreds of candles throughout the home.

The mansion is historically significant and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its grounds were home to the Cherokee Courthouse prior to the displacement of the Cherokees in the Trail of Tears. It is one of few remaining structures used by both Union and Confederate forces during the Battle of Chickamauga in

September 1863. Union and Confederate troops were treated in the field hospital in the house and on the grounds during that battle.

In 1889, the grounds of the mansion were the site of the Blue-Gray Barbecue, in which several thousand Civil War veterans returned to the site to eat and fellowship. At that event, a decision was made to form the ChickamaugaChattanooga

National Military Park, the first Civil War battlefield in the United States.

Admission to this fundraiser for the Friends of the Gordon-Lee Mansion is $5 adults, $1 for children ages 12 and younger. Guests pay at the door.

The Dec. 14 tours will be held in conjunction with Chickamauga’s Christmas in the Streets. The annual community event begins with a block party from 2 to 6 p.m. followed by a parade at 6:30.

During the tour, guests will be treated to live music performed by local artists. After touring, guests are welcome to proceed to the warming kitchen located off the back porch to enjoy freshly made apple cider and ginger cookies.

For more information: 423-488-9861.

FRIENDS OF GORDON-LEE MANSION CONTRIBUTED PHOTO The Gordon-Lee Mansion will be decorated much as it would have looked in the 1800s with fresh greenery, fruit and hundreds of candles.