The Chickamauga Historic Preservation Commission is looking at establishing a Local Historic District in the city.
The commission is planning a meeting with downtown business owners for mid-March.
“We want to see if there is a local community interest in establishing the district,” said CHPC Chairman Jim Staub. “It certainly depends on the property owners’ interest. It will have to be broadly supported by them in order to move forward…”
From left, Chickamauga Historic Preservation Commission Chairman Jim Staub welcomes members Alan Darr, Melinda Askew and Dale Forester to a CHPC meeting at the Chickamauga Civic Center Feb. 19.
Photo by Katie Ward HamiltonThe meeting’s speaker will tell business owners the positives to becoming part of a Local Historic District. Guidelines for the district will be established with input from the downtown property owners, Staub said, though it is ultimately up to the City Council to approve or disapprove the district.
“If you look at downtown Chickamauga, several property owners did great historic restorations,” said Staub. “For those that have taken the initiative to restore their buildings and preserve it, the Local Historic District would assist in protecting their investment in the property. The city would preserve its streetscape through the district designation too.”
Through a historic grant, the city was able to contract Atlanta Preservation and Planning Services owner Laura Drummond to complete a “City of Chickamauga Historic Resources Survey” for the city. The survey can be viewed online at cityofchickamauga.org by clicking on “Announcements.”
“One of the things that Laura recommended was establishing a Local Historic District in the city … to allow the city to establish guidelines and standards for rehabilitation and for new development,” Staub said. “This can assist property owners with protecting the values of their properties.”
According to the survey, Chickamauga is a historic city because 86 percent of the surveyed properties are more than 50 years old. Nearly half of those properties were built between 1910 and 1929. The city has examples of Craftsman, commercial, Colonial Revival and Neoclassical Revival building styles and a variety of residential and commercial buildings.
Local landmarks include the Gordon-Lee House, built in the mid-1840s; the cemetery, established in 1861; the David Griffin Elder House, established in 1892; the train depot, built in 1892; the coke ovens, built in 1897; the water tower, constructed in 1910; the Daniel Ashley Jewell House, established in 1913; and Gordon Lee Memorial High School, constructed in 1930.