Chattanooga History

History is made every day. And as time goes by, we take the past, and we preserve it — in books, museums, and monuments. Chattanooga's history runs deep, reaching into the lives of men and women who lived centuries ago, bringing their stories into the forefront of today.

A Time Line of Chattanooga:

1540 to 1541 — Hernando DeSoto's Spanish expedition travels along the Tennessee River in search of gold and adventure stopping in Chattanooga on his journey.

1600's — The Tennessee River is an important part of the French trade route between the Mississippi Valley and Charleston, South Carolina.

Early 1700's — The French have established trading posts along the river.

1760 — There is conflict between the French and the English for control of trade with the Indians, resulting in the French and Indian War. The end of this war leaves the English in control of the area.

1816 — Ross's Landing is established by Chief John Ross of the Cherokee Indians.

1819 — Hamilton County is formed.

1837 to 1850 — The Western & Atlantic Railroad is being built, routed to end in Chattanooga.

1838 — Chattanooga becomes the official name of the city. Cherokee parties leave on their journey west along the Trail of Tears.

1840's — Robert Cravens builds the Bluff Furnace, a replica of which stands in the original location next to the Walnut Street Bridge.

1860 — Chattanooga's population reaches 2,000, making it a large city for the time period.

1863 — The Campaign for Chattanooga brings the struggle between the North and the South to the banks of the Tennessee River and the surrounding mountains.

1867 — The First Congregationalist Church of Chattanooga becomes the first church in the South to welcome both black and white members.

1890 — The nation's first national military park is established, Chickamauga-Chattanooga National Military Park.

1890 — Due to the large iron manufacturing industry, Chattanooga becomes known as the "Pittsburgh of the South."

1891 — Walnut Street Bridge is built.

1894 — Bessie Smith, Empress of the Blues, is born in Chattanooga.

1895 — The Lookout Mountain Incline Railway is completed.

1908 — The Chattanooga Choo Choo Terminal Station is built.

1928 — Ruby Falls is discovered.

1932 — Rock City opens.

1933 — Tennessee Valley Authority is formed to stop flooding.

Late 1940's — The song, Chattanooga Choo Choo by Glenn Miller, becomes the first gold record.

1948 — The city became the first major southern city to have African-American Police Officers.

1969 — Walter Cronkite announces on the Evening News that Chattanooga is America's dirtiest city, a remark that will spur on Chattanooga's citizens to change the direction the city is heading.

1976 — Miller Park is opened.

1982 — Riverbend, a nine-day music festival held at Ross's Landing, begins.

1982 — The Vision 2000 project is formed to develop recommendations for how to revitalize the riverfront and downtown.

1992 — Tennessee Aquarium is built.

1993 — Reopening of the Walnut Street Bridge as the world's longest pedestrian bridge.

2005 — Multi-million waterfront revitalization completed. The Passage, an underground passageway marking the Trail of Tears, is part of the revitalization.

The history of the Scenic City

The name "Chattanooga" comes from the Creek Indian word for "rock coming to a point." This refers to Lookout Mountain which begins in Chattanooga and stretches 88 miles through Alabama and Georgia.

The city itself started out with 2 different names: Ross's Landing and Lookout City. Ross's Landing was established in 1816 by John Ross, Chief of the Cherokee Indians.

This area consisted of a ferry, warehouse, and landing. With the organization of Hamilton County in 1819, Ross's Landing served not only the Cherokee trade but also as a convenient business center for the county. In 1838, the city officially took the name of "Chattanooga." That same year, Cherokee parties left from Ross's Landing for the West on what became known as the Trail of Tears.

The bloodiest 2-day battle of the Civil War . . .

In addition to its important geographic location with the mountains and the river, Chattanooga was also a vital railroad center, with tracks leading from Atlanta to Nashville, from Memphis to Charleston, and from Knoxville to Virginia. With the rail center so strategically placed at the “Gateway to the Deep South,” Chattanooga’s nickname during the war, troops were able to not only transport supplies, but also reinforcements. In addition, if the Union won here, they would have easy access to the Confederate’s “home turf.”

What started off as a skirmish along the banks of the Tennessee River in the spring of 1863 resulted in the Confederates retreat to Chickamauga, Georgia. Here, the bloodiest two-day battle of the entire Civil War was fought, with a staggering 37,000 casualties. The Confederates were the first to regroup after the devastating Battle of Chickamauga, and they proceeded to lay siege for three months to the Union forces holed up in Chattanooga.

General Ulysses S. Grant was sent in after the Union’s defeat at Chickamauga to regain control of the Campaign. Under Grant’s leadership, and with the help of Generals Thomas, Hooker, and Sherman, the Union were able to win the following five battles in the Campaign for Chattanooga.

Upon the Union’s victory at the final battle in the campaign for Chattanooga, the Battle of Missionary Ridge, the gateway was opened, allowing for Sherman’s famous march to Atlanta the following year. Shortly thereafter, the war ended.

In 1890, veterans from both the Union and the Confederacy came back to the Scenic City. They placed tablets and erected monuments in what became the nation’s first national military park. The Chickamauga-Chattanooga National Military Park is still the largest of its kind in the nation with districts at the Chickamauga Battlefield, Point Park and Lookout Mountain Battlefield, Missionary Ridge, Orchard Knob, and Signal Point.

The Chattanooga National Cemetery was created in 1863, after the battles in the Campaign for Chattanooga, due to the enormous number of casualties at the Battle of Chickamauga. By 1865, more than 12,000 Union soldiers had been buried, about 5,000 unknown. The cemetery was officially designated as the first national cemetery in 1867 when Congress passed “An Act to Establish and Protect National Cemeteries.” Among those buried here are seven of Andrews’ Raiders, the first Medal of Honor recipients who were honored for their famous mission known as the “Great Locomotive Chase.”

The oldest surviving truss bridge of its size in the South . . .

Built in 1891, the Walnut Street Bridge became the first multiuse structure to span the Tennessee River, and for almost three decades, it served as the only way to cross the river.

The Walnut Street Bridge served as a busy thoroughfare to the citizens of Chattanooga for many decades. Almost 100 years after its construction, the bridge was closed on the advice of engineers who feared its collapse. Committed citizens spoke out against its destruction, and the funds were then committed to preserve this historical landmark by turning it into a “walking bridge.” Today, the Walnut Street Bridge connects downtown Chattanooga to the north shore’s Coolidge Park and Frazier Avenue.

The first Gold Record . . .

The famous Chattanooga Choo Choo Terminal Station was built in 1908. The station still stands today as a testament of the golden age of railroad with its 85-foot freestanding dome, the world’s largest free-standing dome. In addition, the song “Chattanooga Choo Choo,” which was made famous by Glen Miller in the 1940’s, became the first gold record.

See Rock City and the invention of Tom Thumb Golf . . .

Historical evidence shows that Native Americans once inhabited Lookout Mountain. It was in 1823 that two missionaries, Daniel S. Butrick and William Chamberlain, arrived in the area to minister to these Indians. On August 28, 1823, Reverend Butrick made an entry in his diary describing “a citadel of rocks” atop the mountain, noting the immense size of the boulders and stating that they were arranged in such a way “as to afford streets and lanes.” By the time the Civil War reached the slopes of Lookout Mountain, more and more people had discovered what was already being called “the Rock City.” During the famous Battle of Lookout Mountain, both a Union and a Confederate nurse speculated in separate diary entries that one could see seven states from atop the summit. Rock City remained known to hikers and geologists throughout the latter portion of the 1800’s, but it would take the dawning of a new century before the fabulous Rock City would reach its full potential.

The man who would eventually make Rock City a household name was, appropriately enough, himself a product of the Tennessee hills. A born promoter, Garnet Carter had tried and succeeded at a number of business ventures before hitting on the idea of developing a residential neighborhood on top of Lookout Mountain. Launched in 1924, the new community was to be known as Fairyland, named so because of his wife Freida’s longtime interest in European folklore. One of the enticing features of Fairyland was to be a golf course, but construction took considerably longer than planned. In order to appease those who were clamoring to play golf, Carter responded by fashioning what is now recognized as the nation’s first miniature golf course. Because of its popularity, Carter decided to franchise his miniature golf concept all over the United States; hence, the origins of Tom Thumb Golf.

The 700 acres of Fairyland also encompassed the legendary Rock City, and Frieda Carter set out to develop this property into a rock garden to end all rock gardens. She had taken string and marked a trail that wound its way around giant rock formations, ending at the giant outcropping known as Lover’s Leap. She had also collected wildflowers and other plants and had them transplanted along her trail. Frieda’s gardening was supplemented by imported German statues of gnomes and famous fairytale characters, which were stationed at points along the trail. Entrepreneur that he was, Carter realized his wife had something there and that lots of people might be willing to pay to see it. The rest, as they say, is history.

Ruby Falls . . .

In 1928, Leo Lambert began digging an elevator shaft down to the original cave within the Lookout Mountain Caverns. After 92 days of drilling through 420 feet of solid stone, the crew reached its target. But, some 260 feet down, Lambert was overtaken by an unfamiliar gust of air. Searching for the source, he discovered a small crevice measuring 18 inches high and four feet wide that disappeared into the mountain. Traveling for 17 hours, much of it on his hands and knees, Lambert stumbled upon a spectacular waterfall and breathtaking scenes of rock formations and mineral deposits within a large cavern. When he returned to his group, his description of his discovery seemed so preposterous that the group refused to believe him until he returned to the falls a second time with his wife, Ruby. When she repeated Lambert’s story to the engineers, work began to enable visitors to view this natural wonder, and Ruby Falls opened to the public in 1929.