History chiseled in stone rests in Dalton’s West Hill Cemetery. More than 150 years old, the cemetery holds the final resting places of poet Robert Loveman, “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms” author A.J. Showalter, baseball player Harry “Suitcase” Simpson and thousands of others, including many of Dalton’s political and business leaders of the past.
Now, the Dalton Historic Preservation Commission hopes to help make that history more accessible to both residents and visitors to Dalton. It’s part of a larger effort by city and Whitfield County officials to increase historical tourism.
Last year, the city got an $8,000 grant from the state to create a walking tour of the cemetery, which also contains the graves of some 421 Confederate soldiers and four Federal soldiers from the Civil War.
“We are working on the copy for the brochure and the map,” said Kathryn Sellers, a member of the commission.
The map, which is expected to be ready by April, will direct people to various graves and give them a little information on the people buried in them. It will concentrate on the part of the cemetery that is in the historic district, which essentially runs from Ridge Street to the chapel.
The tour was inspired by walking tours held by members of the Whitfield-Murray Historical Society four years ago as a fundraiser.
“We were looking for a way to raise money. There are a lot of people who are interested in cemeteries, and this is just a fantastic cemetery,” said Joanne Lewis, a historical society member who suggested the first tour. “Not only is it very pretty, it has some interesting stories.”
The cemetery is also part of another tour, a driving tour of Civil War sites being developed by Whitfield County.
County administrator Robert McLeod said that tour will allow motorists to buy a map, brochure and audio recording that will lead them around various sites in the county. Former Dalton State College president Jim Burran, a history major in college who often taught history classes at DSC, has been helping the county create the script for the tour, which will include information about the various sites, a chronology of events and brief biographies of some of the key players.
“We’ve patterned it after things in some of the national parks,” said McLeod. “You’ll follow the map and stop at a site and listen to the history. You can read about it and listen to it. It runs between three and four hours.”
The tour would start at the Tunnel Hill battlefield and heritage center and include stops at Buzzard’s Roost Gap, Dug Gap, Crow Valley, the Confederate cemetery in West Hill Cemetery and the Western & Atlantic depot.
McLeod said musicians and voice actors will be donating time to the project.
“I estimate we might be able to get everything done for $5,000,” he said.
McLeod said he hopes the tour will be available by the end of February at the Convention and Visitors Bureau office and other locations, such as local hotels and the Northwest Georgia Trade and Convention Center.
“We haven’t worked out all the details of the publication,” he said.
McLeod said one issue that hasn’t been resolved is who would pay for the printing of the brochure.
Ellen Thompson, president of the historical society, says the tours should help raise awareness of the rich history available locally.
“We’ve been told that our area has more Civil War sites that are still in existence than anywhere else in the United States,” she said. “I’m certain that as the 150th anniversary of the Civil War grows closer, we will have people come and visit our area to see those sites and maybe look at our local history as well.”
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January 24, 2009
West Hill Cemetery may be tourism draw
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