The Living and Learning Museum, a cooperative effort between the Marsh House, Martin Davis House and Chattooga Academy in LaFayette, is hosting "History Day Camp: The Birth of a Town — 1835 Chattooga/LaFayette." The purpose of the museum is to provide educational programs for the community, and this is one of those educational programs. Students will visit Chattooga Academy/Gordon Hall, shown here, among other landmarks.History will come to life in downtown LaFayette as students explore the area on foot.
"History Day Camp: The Birth of a Town - 1835 Chattooga/LaFayette" is a new day camp being offered free of charge at the Welcome Center on North Main Street in LaFayette.
The camp - part of the local Living and Learning Museum concept - is Tuesday, July 19 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and welcomes boys and girls entering third through sixth grades. Campers should bring a sack lunch, but water will be provided.
Campers will learn about Native Americans, early European settlers, frontier life and early schooling in the area, as well as make a craft and play games from the 1800s.
"This is our pilot History Day Camp because we want the children of the area to know their history," said Living and Learning Museum Education Committee member Jennie Chandler. "And this is a fun way to present it.
"We will talk about the birth of the town. We will talk about the Indian settlement and the Europeans coming in the early 1830s. We will take a small walk around the area and look at the buildings."
Two of the walking tour stops are LaFayette First Presbyterian Church and First Baptist Church of LaFayette. Along with LaFayette First United Methodist Church, they were established around 1835, she said, with parishioners meeting in log cabin buildings. Though the churches all look different today, they are all still in operation. (The Methodist church is not within a reasonable walking distance so it will not be included on the walking tour.)
"We will also tour Chattooga Academy," Chandler said the two-story brick schoolhouse built in 1836 and believed to be the oldest in the state. "By knowing these things were established, we can conclude that religion and education were important. If you were going to start a new town, what would you want to be in it?"
To register, call 423-994-8485 by 5 p.m. July 18.
To learn more about Chattooga Academy, visit facebook.com/ChattoogaAcademy. To learn more about the Marsh House, visit facebook.com/TheMarshHouseOfLaFayette.