By: Cayce Lee
The weather may not be very cooperative by alternating showers, blustery days, and glimpses of sunshine but Athens, Elkmont, and Mooresville are marking April – and our city, county, and state bicentennials – with a month of Saturday Historic Walks highlighting our history, people, and places starting April 7.
In Alabama’s oldest town, Mooresville, the citizens have prepared a special series to accompany their historic walks for April – “Portraits of the Beginning.” Each walking session will begin with a small lecture about key points in Mooresville’s history before setting out and winding through the tiny village’s tree covered streets and enjoy the almost doorto- door history, heritage, and architecture. They will pause before homes with charming gardens, stand in the shadowof the Brick Church, and enjoy tales of local lore including the XYZ Preacher, visits of U.S. Presidents and tales of yesteryear.
Attendees wishing to attend Mooresville’s Saturday Historic Walks are requested to reserve their spot via the website www.MooresvilleAL.com and looking under the Bicentennial section for Portraits of the Beginning. Seating for this free series that starts at 10:00 a.m. each Saturday in April is limited. Check-in instruction for the start location will be included with your reservations.Athens will be offering up to five of its community tours each Saturday as part of the Athens-Limestone County Bicentennial Celebrations. Interested guests should check Athens-Limestone Visitors Center at 100 North Beaty Street in Athens starting at 9:45 a.m. After signing in, intrigued attendees will depart at 10:00 a.m. with local guides Rebekah Davis to tour the Houston Historic District,Jerry Barksdale to tour Downtown Athens Historic District, Anna Gibbs to tour AthensCollege Historic District, Billy Ward to tour the Beaty Historic District, and Teddy Dutton to tour the Alabama Veterans Museum.
The walks through the historic district will wind past homes, businesses, and other historic structures while sharingtales of families, history, architecture, and occasional bits of forelorned tragedy or legend with tour participants. The tour attendees of the Alabama Veterans Museum will enjoy a carefully curated collection of items from the Revolutionary War to the present, featuring items and tales from the warfront as well as the homefront. Historic Elkmont’s tours will feature tour guides from the local historical society sharing tales of yesteryear, the Civil War, alongside other tales of Elkmont’s people, places, and lore. Attendees are asked to meet at the old L&N Train Depot on Railroad Street near the intersection with Upper Fort Hampton Road at 10:00 a.m. for check-in.
These Bicentennial Historic Saturday Walking Tours will continue the entire month of April. The walks are free and open to the public. The walks take between one to two hours to complete and will involve traveling on a variety of terrain. Another bicentennial eventto make note of is the upcoming Athens Cemetery Stroll – Bicentennial Event which will take place on Sunday, April 22, from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Athens City Cemetery with actors dressed in period styles offering tales of history, families, and more that celebrates the 200 years of Alabama, Limestone County, Mooresville and Athens. The event is free and open to the public.
For more information on these or other upcoming events, please contact the
Athens-Limestone Visitors
Center at 100 North Beaty
Street in Athens, by phone
256-232-5411, or visit the
website www.VisitAthensAL.
com.
By: Cayce Lee
Social Media Specialist, Athens-Limestone County Tourism Association
