Want to learn more about local history and maybe get some chills down your spine during the Halloween season? Then take the opportunity now to go on a tour with the Polk County Historical Society in the weeks to come.

Cemetery tours at the Historic Van Wert Church in Rockmart are starting this weekend, Friday and Saturday on October 2 and 3 with three times available for those interested learning about one of the oldest churches and graveyards in Polk County.

Tickets are available now for $10 for adults and $5 for children (5 and under participate free of charge) at polkhist.com or by calling 770-748-4828 during museum hours to make a purchase, with limited spaces available. Tours are held on Fridays at 6 p.m., and Saturdays at 2 and 4 p.m. You can also email for more information about tickets at polkgahistory@gmail.com.

Historical Society Museum Executive Director Arleigh Ordoyne said the tours will provide participants with an education on the Historic Van Wert Church’s final resting place for the people who shaped Polk County’s past.

“The Historic Van Wert church was built in 1856 and its cemetery is one of the oldest in Northwest Georgia. Welsh slate miners, Civil War soldiers, and pioneer residents rest here,” she said. “The tour includes a history of the church, interesting facts on those buried in the cemetery, an overview of the types of monuments, and a walk through of the church.”

Tours start this weekend and the dates following are for October 9 and 10, the weekend of Oct. 16 and 17, and the final dates of Oct. 23 and 24. There will be no tours on Halloween weekend.

Find additional upcoming events involving the Historical Society, museum hours and more at their website in the link above.