Bandy Heritage Center presents 2016 Dixie Highway Symposium
April 12, 2016
On Friday, April 22, 2016, the Bandy Heritage Center for Northwest Georgia will host the 2016 Dixie Highway Symposium in Room 105 of the James E. Brown Center on the campus of Dalton State College in Dalton, Georgia.
A panel of three speakers will discuss aspects of the historic significance of the Dixie Highway, and the role of preservation and promotion of the route in present-day state and local efforts to boost tourism. The lectures are FREE and open to the public and will begin at 9:00 a.m., continuing until 3:00 p.m., with a lunch break from 12:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Constructed in the early years of the twentieth century, the Dixie Highway in Georgia was actually a network of highways crossing the state from north to south. These roads, the state’s first paved highways, opened Georgia to tourists driving from the Midwest on their way to the Florida beaches and integrated the state more closely into the fabric of American life.
Edwin Jackson, an independent scholar and author, will speak on two topics: “The Origin and Legacy of Georgia’s Dixie Highway” and “Can the Lincoln Highway Serve as a Model for Dixie Highway Tourism?” Ernest L. Barfield III, Program Director for the Historic Dixie Highway Scenic Byway, will present “The Journey: Georgia’s Historic Dixie Highway Scenic Byway.” Dr. James A. Burran, former president of Dalton State College, will discuss “The Dixie Highway During the Jim Crow Era.”