County Historical Society meeting
January 26, 2020 Welcome Center, 309 N. Main, La Fayette, GA
Don Coleman, Vice President, started at 3:00 PM with the following in attendance: Don Coleman, Jamie Snyder, Connie Forester, Jenny Crisp, Richard W. Chadburn, Beth Grayson, Lem Arnold, Jane Shelton, Joan Trundle, and Kaye Thurman.
The November minutes were read briefly, including a short review of Christmas candlelight tour, the Montgomery Bus Tour and information about donation for plaque about lynchings in Walker County, and the election of officers in the Walker County Historical Society.
Memberships for the WCHS were collected.
Don Coleman then gave a comprehensive review of the already planned programs for the year.
Calendar:
♦ February 23: Beverly Foster will be giving a program on the Equal Justice Institute’s grant for the Reconciliation Project in Walker County per lynchings.
♦ March 22: Clayton Bell Scholarship Fund Reception at the Marsh House. Joint meeting with the WCHS. Program: Student Interns discuss their projects in history at the Marsh House.
♦ April 26: Possible joint meeting with the United Daughters of the Confederacy — commemoration of Confederate Memorial Day
♦ May 24 or May 31: (Memorial Day Weekend) Secret Tour of a Historic Home or Site not normally open to the public.
♦ June 28: Open.
♦ July: NO MEETING
♦ August 23: Open.
♦ September 27: Open.
♦ October 25: Open.
♦ November 22: WCHS Annual Business Meeting.
November is Native American Heritage Month (Could present program related to Trail of Tears or other aspects of Native American heritage)
♦ December: Marsh House Candlelight Tours. Many members are reenactors, and most people attend on one of the nights. Usually open — weekends, Sat. and Sun. evenings, 6-8 PM. Reenact a certain year, probably 1882, on life in the Marsh-Warthen family and Walker County.
After reviewing these already planned programs, he opened up the floor for new ideas to members.
Connie Forester mentioned the possibility of asking Sheriff Steve Wilson to come in to speak about the history of the police force in this area. She also mentioned that he could speak on Sheriff Garmany who was Sheriff when lynchings in Walker County took place.
Jenny Crisp brought up the recent 50 year anniversary (November 2019) of the first successful drop at Ellison Cave (near Pigeon Mountain) . She mentioned that she would like to see the Historical Society bring in local community speakers/ workers at Ellison Cave to come speak about this subject.
Don Coleman brought up the novel St. Elmo, written by Augusta Jane Evans, and published in 1866. This was one of the most popular novels of the 19th century. The community of St. Elmo is named after this novel. He also mentioned that the author had come to Lookout Mountain as a getaway and, while there, penned the novel.
This information was also tied in to the larger theme that local/community history is an important part of who we are.
Don Coleman also brought forward several other interesting ideas for programs for the Historical Society, including:
♦ A visit to the Lytle House in Armuchee
♦ Program on Appalachian culture and dialect
♦ Program on “Ghost Towns,” including interviewing older residents to obtain oral histories and to record these valuable memories. Some examples given were “Bethel” and “Pond Spring”
♦ Travel Meeting to Emery Center in Dalton, Georgia, focus on the Center of AfricanAmerican Culture
♦ Program on the Coca-Cola Bottling Plant in LaFayette, tied in with visit to Martin-Davis House
♦ Visit to Blunt House in Dalton, Georgia,
Home of Ainsworth Blunt, first mayor of Dalton, Georgia
♦ Visit to Rose Lawn in Cartersville, Georgia
♦ Visit to Houston Museum (across from Hunter Museum of Art)
♦ Program on 100th Anniversary of Women’s Right to Vote
♦ Program on DNA Ancestry/Ethnicity, possible tie-in With Native American History, Cherokee History, and Heritage
Richard Chadburn expressed interest in a program about E. T. Barwick and the Barwick Mills here in La Fayette, Georgia. This could possibly be tied-in with a program focusing on the influence the southern states had from a more industrialized north
Jenny Crisp mentioned having a program focused on or visiting the Estelle Mines — (the WCHS have had a meeting there in the past . Both Jane Shelton and Connie Forester mentioned several places that might be worth revisiting for the Historical Society, including:
♦ Blue Spring (foot of Pigeon Mountain)
♦ Shaw House
♦ Whitlow House
♦ Glenn House
♦ House in the Cove
♦ Miller Bros. House (was a hotel)
♦ Richard A. Lane House
♦ Old McConnell House (Broomtown Road)
♦ Chattooga Co. House, go past McConnell House; in Teloga Community
♦ Clarkson family home
♦ Lem Arnold mentioned two road trips already done by the Historical Society as well: the Villanow Store and the Loughridge House (in Noble, GA)
After several minutes of discussion about these possible programs, Don Coleman mentioned a possible research project related to historic houses in this area. This would be a yearlong research project, where the WCHS would research history and then have a big reveal for the family/community/etc.
Michal Jones was unable to attend the meeting, but sent forward several great ideas for programs, including:
♦ an art contest with the Arts Guild with an historical theme
♦ Co-Sponsored event with a quilting group
♦ ”History Hounds”: an elementary history club
She has reached out to North LaFayette Elementary to ask about their Living History night and thinks we should have a presence there
♦ Program on story-telling and how to use it to tell our history
♦ Honey Bee Festival — June 13, 2020. We should have a presence, even if house cannot be opened
♦ Program with master gardener to speak about historical plants, both wild and domestic.
♦ Program on antique bicycles to go along with the HoneyBee bike ride.
Don Coleman then took some time to describe the agenda for the next WCHS meeting on February 23, 2020. Finally, there was a break for refreshments. The meeting lasted from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM with several members remaining until almost 4:30 PM.
Overall, this meeting brought forward some great ideas for 2020.
Respectfully submitted, Ja
mie Snyder, Secretary