City officials sometimes wear many hats, but Aiken Mayor Fred Cavanaugh had never played the role of bricklayer - until recently.

In a special ceremony March 24, Mr. Cavanaugh placed one of the first bricks at the Labyrinth of Hopelands Gardens.

"Just hold the trowel in your left hand and the brick in your right," Public Works Director Larry Morris told Mr. Cavanaugh.

About 50 people who gathered behind the Doll House at Hopelands Gardens to celebrate the new addition.

"It just shows what we can do when we work together," Mr. Cavanaugh said of the labyrinth.

Sue Broderick, the president of the board of directors of Aiken Community Labyrinth Project, said she approached Mr. Cavanaugh about constructing a labyrinth six years ago.

"We did this as a gift to the town, a gift to Aiken County," she said.

In addition to the labyrinth committee, the Aiken County End-of-Life Coalition, the city and the Friends of Hopelands and Rye Patch are sponsoring the project.

Ms. Broderick said a $10,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation got the labyrinth under way. She said she did not know the final price tag of the project.

"Each time we get a donation, we can add another faction," she said.

The labyrinth will measure about 42 feet in diameter, and includes benches and landscaping.

Labyrinths, which have existed for more than 4,000 years, have one path leading to and from the center of the design. Unlike a maze, a labyrinth offers only one way to travel along its path.

The octagonal pattern of the Hopelands Gardens labyrinth will be similar in design to a labyrinth at the 13th century Amiens Cathedral in France, designers said. Construction is expected to be completed this fall.

Ms. Broderick said the labyrinth can be used as an educational tool for school groups, a place to meditate or as part of healing for patients.

"I think it's so important for the community to have this," she said. "It's a form of ease. It's a form of getting in tune with who you really are."

Reach Betsy Gilliland at (803) 648-1395, ext. 113, or betsy.gilliland@augustachronicle.com.