Ellington

Good food, good drink and good deeds go hand in hand next week when One Eleven restaurant hosts a food and wine fundraiser for the LaFayette Historic Preservation Commission.

The wine and cheese tasting fundraiser will be held Thursday, June 14 from 5:30-8 p.m. to help fund the restoration of six bronze plaques that relate important stories of LaFayette’s early history.

“Discussion about restoring these markers has been ongoing for about six years, but a lack of state funding has made it a slow process,” said Catherine Edgemon, the city’s director of Main Street and Economic Development.

Edgemon said LaFayette’s Historic Preservation Commission and Downtown Development Authority have partnered with the Walker County Historical Society to restore five markers in front of Chattooga Academy and one at Fort Cumming. These cast bronze markers were erected by the state historical society during the 1950s.

Those at Chattooga Academy relate information about the city’s early days. Most deal with events during the Civil War era, but one tells of the city being named for Revolutionary War hero Maj. Gen. Marie Jean Paul Roch Yves Gilbert Motier Marquis de LaFayette.

The Fort Cumming plaque marks the approximate location of a stockade where about 500 Cherokee were interned before being marched to Ross’s Landing and then westward on the Trail of Tears.

The cost to replace the posts and to restore the markers, which will include preparing and repainting the signs and replacing the posts, will be $4,500. A Walmart Foundation grant, a recent Pizza Hut fundraiser and donations from civic groups and individuals have raised nearly $2,750.

Michael Lovelady, owner of One Eleven and chairman of the local Downtown Development Authority, said restoration of the markers is something everyone in LaFayette should support and take pride in.

He said Thursday’s event will feature “wines, cheeses and finger foods” that are typically found on the restaurant’s menu as well as live entertainment.

“Over the summer we hope to present more events like this,” he said. “Not only to help restoration projects, but also to attract people to downtown LaFayette.”

Tickets cost $15 each or two for $25 and may be purchased at: One Eleven, Elite Custom Paint and Body, The Bank of LaFayette, Cohutta Banking Co., Sew Cute, The Bouquet Shop and Debbi’s Flowers and Favors.

For more information, call 706-639-1519.