Big sign for a Little House

Walker County is full of historical activity, from American Indians to early settlers to the War Between the States. The Little House on West Armuchee Road is one example of how history is not forgotten and is shared with locals and tourists alike.

William Little was one of the first settlers in the West Armuchee valley area around 1840. He built the Little House located on West Armuchee Road to raise his growing family. In 1863 when war came to Walker County and specifically the Battle of Chickamauga in September 1863, General John Bell Hood was wounded by gunshot below his right hip and had his leg amputated. Colonel Francis H. Little, William Little’s son, served in the 11th Georgia Infantry under Hood’s command. Colonel Little suggested General Hood recuperate from his leg amputation at his father’s home in Walker County instead of at the field hospital near Ringgold, Ga. Hood stayed at the Little House for over four weeks until Union troop

presence threatened and he was moved to Tunnel Hill, Ga., to catch the train and be relocated farther away from Union activity. In a letter to noted north Georgia researcher Wilbur urtz, Ms. Dixie Little, niece of Colonel Little, relates how a few days after Hood was vacated from the Little House, some Yankee troops came to the Little House looking for General Hood and apparently got “pretty rough.” One of the Little sons shot

and killed one of the Yankees and he was buried close to the house.

In 1899 William Pell Blackwell purchased the home and enlarged the house by adding two rooms on the first floor and adding a second story. Robert E. McWilliams purchased the home in 1969. Ann Jones is the present owner of the home and farm.

Members of the Little family — William, Elizabeth William’s wife , Colonel Little,

and a brother, Robert Little who was killed at the Battle of Chickamauga and brought back to the valley for burial — are buried nearby in the old Young Family Cemetery on West Armuchee Road.

A historical sign was erected relaying the information about the Little House in 2005 by the John B. Gordon Camp 599 Sons of the Confederate Veterans, LaFayette, Ga. However, a larger and more informational plaque was erected as a collaborative effort with Private John Ingraham Camp 1977 Sons of Confederate Veterans, Chickamauga, Ga., and Missionary Ridge Chapter 1777, United Daughters of the Confederacy, Chattanooga, Tenn., supported with funds from the Georgia Civil War Commission on November 18, 2022, beside the existing original sign.

Contributed The 2005 sign and the new plaque, together with the present-day William Little House in the background. The new larger plaque was erected in November 2022.

Contributed The original house, before 1899 renovations were made, with Mr. and Mrs. Little standing on the porch.