UNION CITY, TENN. – Main Street Union City has announced a new addition to downtown Union City that will have history buffs, locals and out-of-town guests eager to learn more about the history of downtown Union City. Thanks to the funds from the state of Tennessee’s Downtown Improvement Grant (DIG), Main Street was able to have 20 window clings designed and printed for a walkable, self-guided tour full of fun facts about the history of downtown Union City.
“This is one of the main jobs of Main Street communities throughout the nation – preserving the history of our downtowns,” said Katie Graves, executive director of Main Street Union City. “Each cling will be in the lower corner or on the front door of 20 participating downtown storefronts with a QR code for guests to scan. Each QR code will take you to a designated page where you can read the history of the building.”
Graves gives thanks to Bill Dahnke of the Obion County Historical Society, Art Chivers of Discovery Park of America, and Lolly Bearden, Main Street board chairman, who spearheaded the project.
“Lolly was a huge help in gathering the information for this project for us to put on our website,” said Graves. “She researched, worked alongside Bill and Art, and came up with the best information we could find for each building. I am grateful for Lolly, Bill and Art for helping put this walking tour together to promote to locals and tourists when they visit Obion County.”
This additional walking tour will be a great asset for Obion County Tourism to promote when selling to future tour operators and planners.
“Whenever you can promote the history of a particular area, whether it is Reelfoot Lake or downtown Union City, the tourism industry loves it,” said Caroline Partin, executive director for Obion County Tourism. “This addition will enhance our guests’ experiences when they visit Obion County and are looking for something historic to do.”
You can visit mainstreetunioncity.com/walkingtour to see the window cling sample and a list of all participating buildings. Main Street officials encourage you to come downtown, scan the QR codes and learn about the history of downtown Union City.
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Photo caption: Main Street’s executive director, Katie Graves, installs the first Downtown Historic Waking Tour cling while board president, Lolly Bearden, makes sure it looks good from the outside. The window clings are part of the Downtown Improvement Grant from the state of Tennessee.