Athens Clarke Heritage Foundation

Heritage Walks

Athens Heritage Walks is a series of guided walking tours of historic
places that celebrate each site’s unique architecture, culture and history.
Each tour is hosted by a distinctive personality whose knowledge and
experience bring a unique and colorful perspective to our local history.

Tour information and order form

Printable tour information

Read about the 2009 Tour Series here:

Henderson Avenue
http://chat.athensnewspapers.com/stories/071209/liv_462180904.shtml

UGA N. Campus
http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/080109/uga_473425437.shtml

Winterville
http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/090509/new_489880891.shtml

R.E.M. receives Phinizy Spalding Award

On Monday, June 7, the Athens-Clarke Heritage Foundation awarded the Phinizy Spalding Preservation Award, its most prestigious, to R.E.M. In her remarks announcing the award, Executive Director Amy Kissane said, “R.E.M. has long been deserving of this award but this year seems particularly apropos given that it is their 30th anniversary. This award is not an indication of the end of their contributions; simply a very heartfelt thank-you from the Athens-Clarke Heritage Foundation and the community for all they have done, individually and collectively, and a recognition of what we know will be their continued positive influence.”

In total, seventeen awards were given at this year's Annual Meeting and Preservation Awards ceremony, including for rehabilitations of a building that once stored frozen chickens into an indoor climbing facility, a 19th century textile mill into a medical school, and a Sunday school building into a completely different kind of sanctuary...

Read about the Annual Meeting and see pictures of this year’s Award winners and projects – including a video reflection of R.E.M.’s connection to Athens history –here.

Announcing…Athens-Clarke Heritage Foundation partners with Alumni Association to honor former site of the historic Athens High and Industrial School

The Athens-Clarke Heritage Foundation (ACHF) has partnered with the Alumni Association of the former Athens High and Industrial School to raise funds for a Georgia Historical Marker to recognize the site of the educational landmark. Athens High and Industrial was established in 1916 as the first accredited public high school for African Americans in Georgia. Founded in what is now the Mason’s building on the northeast corner of Reese and Church streets, it eventually moved to the intersection of Pope and Reese and incorporated several buildings that were originally part of the Knox Institute, a school for African Americans begun by the Federal Freedmen’s Bureau shortly after the Civil War. Additional buildings were later added but none remain.

Click here for additional information.

STATUE RECOGNIZING
BEN T. EPPS

In July 2009 the Athens-Clarke County Mayor and Commission approved placing a statue of Ben T. Epps downtown on the same block as City Hall. The statue will be across the street from 120 E. Washington Street, the location of the shop where Epps built the first airplane to fly in Georgia. The Ben Epps Statue Committee has partnered with the Athens-Clarke Heritage Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, to raise money to build this statueFree Presentation to Local Groups.

The Ben Epps Statue Committee is now offering a presentation entitled "Ben T. Epps, Georgia's First Aviator." This 20 to 30 minute Power Point presentation is offered FREE to local groups. For more information or to schedule a presentation contact: Billy Galt at billyg@uga.edu or Tim Wright at timwright33@hotmail.com.

For more information and to donate to this project, please see the following links:

Donor Form

The Statue

Who was Ben Epps?

Ben Epps Statue Committee

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