History can often be just that: history, something people can easily forget about in their daily lives. As a city, Elizabethton is working to preserve that history as time threatens to fade it away into the background.

Elizabethton’s Chamber of Commerce has been working on refurbishing the historic Walking Tour’s signage and information packets for the past year.

Tourism Coordinator Luke Freeman said the project, the combined efforts of the Chamber of Commerce, an advertising agency and students in Elizabethton High School’s Bartleby program, was an effort to update a local heritage that is quickly fading.

“The tour has been up for a long time,” Freeman said. “The signs right now are all faded.”

He said the Walking Tour, a trek through the immediate Elizabethton area centered around historic downtown and the county courthouse area, is a way for people to see the history and culture of Elizabethton. The trail marks historic landmarks of the area, including the Folsom House, the Covered Bridge and the Old Post Office, among other locations. The Chamber rerouted some of the trail last year and added some new locations, including the Tweetsie Trail.

“These are good reminders of our history,” he said. “In a lot of places, people do not know their own history.”

He said this tradition of keeping up the signage will ensure the history does not disappear over time.

“Keeping history alive is important,” Freeman said. “Now it is refreshed and updated.”

In addition to the new signs and route, the Chamber of Commerce also offers new and improved brochures detailing the route and providing historical information on the chosen landmarks. The brochure was designed by an ad agency, but Freeman said Bartleby students helped with the routing and editing the written content on the brochures.

“We want to continue telling these stories,” Freeman said. “We want to introduce fresh faces to the signs and the history behind them.”

The Walking Tour begins at the Chamber of Commerce at 500 Veterans Memorial Parkway, and that is where potential participants can start the trail and pick up the brochure with the guide in them.

Freeman said the Chamber plans to install the new signs within the next few weeks.