Those attending the Walker County Chamber of Commerce membership luncheon last week heard updates on the current state of each of the county’s four municipalities.
Unlike “A Tale of Two Cities,” which opens with the lines “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” reports noted positives outweighing negatives in Chickamauga, LaFayette, Lookout Mountain and Rossville.
“We’ve had struggles, but good things are going for us,” said Chickamauga City Manager John Culpepper. “We’re weathering this down economy and haven’t dipped into reserves.”
Culpepper, manager for 32 of his 39 years with the city, said “things didn’t look so bright” a dozen years ago. Mom-and-pop stores that made up the business district were unable to compete with retailers in Fort Oglethorpe and LaFayette. Crystal Springs Dye Works, which once employed as many as 1,800, laid off most of its workers and the town became a bedroom community to Chattanooga and Dalton.
But just as Chickamauga is today two cities – downtown “Old Chickamauga” and “New Chickamauga” located alongside U.S. Highway 27 – acting as one, it has also shifted from a mill and mining town to one focused on recreation and tourism.