The annual Pike County Chamber of Commerce Farm City Tour will take a northerly direction this year.

The tour is free and all who are interested in knowing more about Pike County and its people are invited to participate.

The tour is set for Wednesday, Oct. 30 and will begin in the Mt. Moriah community and conclude in Orion.

Randy Hale, chair of the sponsoring Farm-City Committee, said this year’s tour will include four stops and will take about four hours.

The tour will organize at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday in the parking lot of the Quality Inn north of Troy. Vans will be available or “tourists” may drive their own vehicles.

“The first stop will be at Mt. Moriah Baptist Church, which is a 100-year-old structure,” Hale said. “They have been having services at the church continually for all those years.

“From there, we will go to Deborah Huggins Davis’ Treasure Forest. She will tell us what is required for a forest to be designated a Treasure Forest. She will also inform us about an ever-running source of water on the property.”

The next stop will be at the home of Harold and Mary Mitchell in the Mt. Moriah community.

“The Mitchell home is made entirely of wood and stone and it’s a beautiful and interesting home,” Hale said. “The Mitchells will show they use irrigation to grow vegetables and we call all learn a lot from them.”

Hale didn’t say so but word from the Chamber is that Mary Mitchell is preparing a few treats for her guests.

The final tour stop will be in Orion where Keith Roling will take the group on a tour of Orion, which, in earlier days, was the center of wealth, aristocracy and learning in Pike County.

“We know that Keith will have some very interesting stories to tell about old Orion,” Hale said. “After the tour ends, everybody will be invited to a Dutch treat lunch at a local restaurant. The Farm City Tour will be interesting, information and a lot of fun. We hope to have a large group for this annual event.”

Those who plan to participate in the tour should call the Pike County Chamber office Monday if they plan to ride in the vans. The number to call is (334) 566-2294.