Audio clip
Barry Brown
Historians and tourism officials may do more planning for the 150th year commemoration of the Civil War than the warring sides did before they first clashed in 1861.
They hope to capitalize by planning ahead, working together and learning from the past.
Though it is still more than three years away, officials from 17 Northwest Georgia counties are organized already, expecting to be ready for intense interest from heritage tourists.
One strategy is to look at the centennial commemoration from 1961-65 and avoid repeating mistakes.
“The Civil War centennial in Georgia and the South — a lot of it was Confederate oriented,” Barry Brown, executive director of the Georgia Civil War Commission, told the Historic High Country Travel Association last week.
With another half century under their belt, states and the nation are smarter and better healed.
Mr. Brown said he has nothing against Confederate heritage, but the Civil War’s 150th anniversary will take a broader look at the fascinating conflict. It will include marginalized groups such as women and blacks, whose stories are vital for historical accuracy, and key to broad tourist attraction.
“We want to make it all inclusive, which is key to getting the most interest and most people,” Mr. Brown said.
There was some burn out associated with the centennial. “Maybe there were too many events, or they were not well enough planned,” Mr. Brown said.
Planners must decide how to sustain interest over a four-year period, from 2011 to 2014.
So they are working on it now, as with Wednesday’s meeting at the 6th Cavalry Museum in Fort Oglethorpe. Stakeholders, from bed and breakfast owners to city and economic development officials, discussed ways to cross promote.
6th Cavalry Museum Executive Director Chris McKeever said the Historic High Country Travel Association and its 17 counties share power in partnership.
Ms. McKeever said the association maximizes resources, and allows a bigger presence for smaller organizations.
“Especially for small places like us — I’m the only staff person here,” she said of the 6th Cavalry Museum.
The preparation is still early, but plans for advertisements and travel packages are under way.
Mr. Brown said each year of the commemoration there will be one or two major events, probably observed with re-enactments. Locations will host smaller events. The challenge now is to decide how to coordinate the events and to get information about them to the public.
Chickamauga City Manager John Culpepper, a Civil War historian, hopes the commemoration will be a watershed event that highlights Northwest Georgia.
“When you want to study the war in Georgia — where do you start? You start right here,” Mr. Culpepper said.
DID YOU KNOW?
Sesquicentennial means a 150th anniversary or its celebration. Source: Webster.com
ON THE WEB
For more information about the Historic High Country Travel Association, visit www.kla-associates. com/~georgiah/index.html.
For more information about the Georgia Civil War Commission, visit www.georgiacivilwar.org/.
Coming soon is a Web site created by Northwest Georgia officials about the 150th anniversary. Visit www.civilwar150th.com/.
