The boundaries of Walker County were originally set in 1833, carved from neighboring Murray County and land once belonging to the Cherokee tribe. During its early years, the Georgia legislature changed Walker County’s boundaries four times. In 1837, Dade County was ceded from Walker’s extreme northwestern corner. In 1838, part of Walker and Floyd Counties became Chattooga County. In 1851, part of Walker and Murray Counties were combined to form Whitfield County. And, in 1857, Catoosa County was taken from portions of Walker and Murray Counties.

The original center of Walker County government was shared by two communities, Benton and Chattooga. By 1835, these settlements had nearly grown together. So, in 1836 the town was renamed, LaFayette, in honor of the Marquis de LaFayette who assisted George Washington during the Revolutionary War.

Walker County is home to 17 sites on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Courthouse, which was constructed in 1917.

Several major battles have occurred in Walker County over the years, including the Battle of Chickamauga, the second bloodiest battle during the Civil War.

From Chattooga Academy and the Marsh House to the Gordon-Lee Mansion and Coke Ovens, you’ll find a host of places where you can step back in time and see what life was like in the 1800’s. Visit our Attractions page for a sample of some of the historic sites available to visit on your next trip to Walker County.

If you see something in Walker County that looks like it belongs in the Shire of Middle Earth, you’ve found the Coke Ovens.

In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, the ovens were used to turn coal into coke for foundries to use to make iron and steel. The ovens closed around the time of the Great Depression when a nearby seam of coal was exhausted.

Blue Hole Spring/Cherokee Trail of Tears Begins

Red Clay State Historic Park encompasses 263-acres of narrow valleys formerly used as cotton and pasture land. The park site was the last seat of Cherokee national government before the 1838 enforcement of the Indian Removal Act of 1830 by the U.S. military, which resulted in most of the Cherokee people in the area being forced to emigrate west. Eleven general councils were held between 1832 and 1837. Red Clay is where the Trail of Tears really began, for it was at the Red Clay Council Grounds that the Cherokee learned that they had lost their mountains, streams and valleys forever. The park is home to a natural landmark, Blue Hole Spring, which arises from beneath a limestone ledge to form a deep pool that flows into Mill Creek, a tributary of the Conasauga and Coosa River system. The spring was used by the Cherokee for their water supply during council meetings. Red Clay State Historic Park has a 100-person capacity picnic pavilion and 18 individual picnic tables. The picnic shelter may be reserved up to one year in advance and is equipped with a grill, a water fountain and restrooms. Individual picnic tables each have a grill and are available on a first-come, first-served basis. The park also features an amphitheater that can seat up to 500 people. The amphitheater can be reserved and often used for musical and theatrical performances. The James F. Corn Interpretive Facility contains exhibits on the 19th century Cherokee, the Trail of Tears, Cherokee art, a video theater, gift shop and small library. https://tnstateparks.com/parks/info/red-clay

At the time the first troops arrived at the park there were nine deep drilled wells, besides several wells at farmhouses and a number of cold springs which had been considered pure. These springs and wells were cleaned out and the wells provided with pumps by the park commissioners before the water was used. These wells and those subsequently sunk were piped to the bottom with six-inch iron tubing, which projected two or three feet above the surface of the ground. The pipes above the ground were protected by stone laid in cement for the purpose of preventing surface drainage getting into the wells. The principal springs outside the park are Crawfish Springs, capacity, say, 15,000,000 gallons per day, distance 1½  miles; Blue Springs, distance, 3 miles; Ellis Springs, distance, 4 miles. All furnished good and abundant water. The water supplied the camp was obtained from the springs above mentioned, hauled in barrels furnished by the Quartermaster’s Department to the different regimental organizations from the nine wells in existence in the park before the arrival of the troops, and thirty-six more that were rapidly sunk in convenient localities, and from Chickamauga Creek. The wells furnished one barrel per minute by vigorous pumping.

The use of Crawfish Springs was discontinued about July 1 on account of disagreement with the owner as to compensation, and the direct supply from that source was cut off. The park commissioners put in a water system at Chickamauga Creek, where it touches the park on its northern and eastern corner. An intake was constructed at that point, a power house erected and furnished with steam pumping machinery, with a capacity of 1,800,000 gallons per day, and a reservoir with a capacity of 17,000 gallons was erected some distance from the pump house upon an elevation sufficiently high so that the water could be distributed through the various portions of the park by gravity. The water-pipe line was about 10 miles in length and extended to the camps of numerous regiments. Chickamauga Creek has its source some 20 miles distant from the park, in the highlands, and is fed by numerous springs, the most important of which are Pond, Gowdy, Owen, Lee, and Crawfish.

Filters were used to a limited extent, but their use amounted to but little, as they soon clogged with the large amount of solid substances which were held in suspension in the water. At first all the wells in the camp furnished cool and pure water, but later some of them became contaminated and their use was discontinued. Whether any of those which were not discontinued were contaminated may be a mooted question, but the evidence before us does not warrant the statement that such was the fact. A very considerable quantity of the water used for drinking during July and August was drawn from the springs above mentioned, which were located outside of the park, the procuring of which was at times a serious inconvenience. There were but few bathing houses, soldiers generally bathing below the intake in Chickamauga Creek. The troops washed their clothing in water obtained from the pipe system, from the wells and springs, and in Chickamauga Creek. The water supply at Camp Thomas was at times insufficient for comfort, especially when the largest number of troops were there. At these times of shortness of water considerable inconvenience and discomfort were caused, but it did not amount to distress. It is very difficult to determine from the evidence to what extent impure water contributed to the production of sickness, but it is probable that it did to a considerable degree. The men would drink any clear water without much thought as to its source, and it appears that they used water which was known to be impure and which was forbidden. In some cases this practice was induced no doubt by disinclination to drink the roily water from Chickamauga Creek.

Eternal Flames in Tennessee

The Cherokee maintained a fire at their seat of government, and carried coals to the Oklahoma Territory. Coals from that fire were used to relight the eternal flame at Red Clay State Park near Blue Hole springs, the last seat of the independent Cherokee Nation. The Cherokee People Eternal Flame, located on the Qualla Boundary in Cherokee, North Carolina, is another example of a flame first lit on the Oklahoma Cherokee Reservation and carried as hot coals back to the homeland. Memphis, at the grave of Elvis Presley at his home Graceland ia another one.