BEDFORD – Two walks are offered this weekend during the Limestone Heritage Festival to feature the amazing limestone buildings and cemeteries in Bedford.
One walk highlights the courthouse square on Friday afternoon, June 23, from 5 p.m. until 6 p.m. The second walk is Saturday morning, June 24, with walkers meeting at 9 a.m.
For the Friday walk, meet in front of the Lawrence County Museum at 929 15th Street across from the courthouse. This walk features the architectural features of the Courthouse and the buildings around the square, and how the square and its buildings have changed over time. Teena Ligman leads this walk which will last about an hour. She encourages local people to come and share their memories.
On Saturday, Ligman will lead a longer walk that will incorporate Bedford’s two cemeteries, featuring some of the most interesting stones in each, and wind through several neighborhoods with historic limestone homes. It includes the Zahn and Northside Historic Districts.
The walk also will loop around the courthouse square with brief stops to see entries in the Limestone Photography Contest and the Limestone Carving Contest.
This walk is 6.2 miles and will likely take 2.5 to 3 hours depending on how long people linger at different points. The longer walk is actually a “Volkswalk” which Ligman will explain to those who are not familiar with this type of walk. Ligman recommends people carry water with them on this walk.
This walk also has a shortened version of 3.1 miles for those who don’t wish to walk as far. The shortened walk will include the cemeteries and an abbreviated hike through a few local neighborhoods. Those who don’t wish to do the entire hike would return to the start point halfway through but would walk the first part together with the group.
The Saturday walk meets at Hardees Restaurant at 1510 16th Street in Bedford. Please park in the back of the restaurant or in the adjacent lot behind the restaurant. You may wish to arrive early for a late breakfast. Contact Teena Ligman for questions about either walk at 812-278-0139.
