Dave Crass, director of the Historic Preservation Division (HPD) of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, announces Chickamauga in Walker County is Georgia’s most recent Certified Local Government (CLG).

The National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior confirmed the designation in late May.

Chickamauga passed a local historic preservation ordinance in 2008 and has a fully appointed citizen board serving as its historic preservation commission (HPC). The HPC has participated in statewide training and continues to encourage the preservation education of its members, as well as the larger Walker County community.

Commenting on the CLG designation, John Culpepper, city manager of the city of Chickamauga, said, “We view our recent CLG designation as another strong planning component to maintaining and preserving our unique community.”

Chickamauga contains numerous local, state, and nationally significant historic resources. Chickamauga not only has local historic districts, but also the Chickamauga National Register Historic District was designated in 2007.

Most of the houses in the Chickamauga district were built between 1907 and 1929 and represent house types and styles popular in Georgia during that time period, including Queen Anne, craftsman and colonial revival styles and numerous vernacular types. The circa 1840 Greek revival-style Gordon Lee Mansion remains and is a great source of pride for the larger northwest Georgia region.

The most nationally recognized landmark and often associated with the city of Chickamauga and Walker County is the Chickamauga National Battlefield. The 5,300 acre battlefield contains major monuments and receives thousands of visitors each year.

The CLG program extends federal and state preservation programs to the local level, expanding the scope of local responsibilities and opportunities for preservation.

Georgia has the second highest number of CLG-designated communities in the United States.

Participation requires the community to create a preservation ordinance that establishes a design review commission. Chickamauga is now eligible for federal Historic Preservation Fund grants administered by the Historic Preservation Division, Department of Natural Resources.

These grants may be used for a variety of preservation activities including historic resource surveys, National Register of Historic Places nominations, educational activities, marketing purposes, publications, heritage tourism studies and predevelopment plans.