By Andy Diffenderfer
Correspondent
A walking tour of some of LaFayette's historical sites Wednesday afternoon gave visitors a chance to stretch their legs under sunny skies and to learn more about the town's past.
About 20 walkers met at Joe Stock Memorial Park for the 90-minute tour sponsored by Bike! Walk! Northwest Georgia, a regional fitness initiative that promotes bicycling and walking as exercise, eco-friendly transportation and family friendly fun.
"It's a walk for their health," said Connie Forrester, chairwoman of the LaFayette Historical Preservation Commission and the tour's leader. "They can see the town and can learn about the town and about its buildings and history."
Visitors browsed inside the Wardlaw Building, which houses the Northwest Georgia Arts Guild's Foothills Gallery. The gallery gives artists from Walker, Dade and Chattooga counties the chance to display their creations.
The site of the building was once the home of the Littlefield family, whose son, Ron, became Chattanooga mayor.
Visitors were taken inside LaFayette Presbyterian Church, where they listened to church member Jane Shelton play the organ.
The church is the oldest building in LaFayette still being used for the purpose for which it was built. The church was formed in 1836, and the congregation met in several locations before constructing a permanent facility in 1848. Military action in 1864 led the building to be used as a field hospital.
Ms. Forrester took walkers through the east and west sides of the town square, detailing past businesses there, then one block east of the square to the Walker County Courthouse. The town square was laid out in 1835 by Benjamin Wheeler, and the courthouse, completed in 1918, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Ringgold resident Shanda Reese Morton of Reese Enterprises, a Walker County Chamber of Commerce member, said she didn't know LaFayette well before the walk but was interested in returning. The tour could have a business benefit, too, she said.
"When you know the community better, it helps your business out," she said.
"It's nice that they do something like this," said walker Sarah Scott, a Noble, Ga., resident who moved to the area from Minnesota six years ago. "I wish more towns would do this."
Andy Diffenderfer is based in LaFayette, Ga. E-mail him at andydiff97@comcast.net.