My Chattanooga Home Town

History of Chattanooga

1540 Spanish expedition of Hernando De Soto passed through area 1663 British established colony of Carolina which included all of Tennessee French from the Mississippi Valley also claimed the land 1761 "Old French Store" first structure by European men built in area Store became trading post Is now marked by a historical plaque 1763 French and Indian War ends England gained undisputed title to the territory 1777 Chief Dragging Canoe moved to South Chickamauga Creek Villages Was member of Chickamauga Indians, a splinter group of the Cherokees They resisted European settlement of area Cooperated with the British in the American Revolution 1794 Ignoring federal policy, militiamen destroyed primary Chickamauga Indian towns Ended struggle for area now including Chattanooga Several battles fought between Native Indians and settlers on Lookout Mountain 1796 Tennessee became the 16th state Native American lands making up about three-fourth of Chattanooga area 1805 The Cherokee and the U S government agreed to open first roads in area 1816 Ross’s Landing established at the to be site of Chattanooga 1817-38 Cemetery established at site of Old Brainerd Mission, one of oldest in Chattanooga Contains graves of Indians and missionaries Mission built by Congregational and Presbyterian Church, Named for missionary David Brainerd Served as school for the Cherokees First in America to teach arts and agriculture to Native Americans 1819 Hamilton County established on lands north of the Tennessee River 1820 Population of Hamilton county was 82 1828 First steamboat, the Atlas, traveled from Chattanooga to Knoxville John Ross elected first Principal Chief of Cherokee Nation He successfully resisted removal of his people to Oklahoma Territory until 1838 1837 A U S Post Office opened at Ross’s landing John P Long became first postmaster 1838 The infamous "Trail of Tears" started by boat from Chattanooga John Ross, Principal Chief of the Cherokees traveled on one of the boats His wife was one of thousands who died on trip First issue of the Hamilton Gazette printed by Ferdinand A. Parham, Later called the Chattanooga Gazette 1839 Tennessee legislature passed an act establishing town of Chattanooga City’s name may be derived from: 1. Creek language meaning "rock coming to a point" referring to Lookout Mountain 2. An Indian word for "hawk’s nest" 3. A corruption of the name of a settlement called "Tsatanuge" Settlement located at foot of Lookout mountain 1850 Western & Atlantic Railroad ran first train from Atlanta to Chattanooga 1854 The Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad completed 1858 East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad completed a direct line from Chattanooga 1861 Tennessee seceded from the Union Chattanooga favored the decision Hamilton County majority voted to stay in Union Bridge burners tried to disrupt rail service in East Tennessee Unionists destroyed two local bridges Confederate troops arrived in town on November 14th 1862 Union spies, "Andrews Raiders" hijacked steam locomotive, "The General" in Atlanta Party of eight convicted of spying and hung in Atlanta by Confederate authorities Are buried in Chattanooga’s military cemetery Statue honoring group placed in National Cemetery The group was recipients of first Congressional Medal of Honor Andrews, a civilian, was not awarded the medal 1863 Confederate forces evacuated Chattanooga Bloodiest two day battle of Civil War occurred at Chickamauga on Sept 19th and 20th More than 34,000 Union and Confederate soldiers killed Chattanooga’s most famous engagement fought on Lookout Mountain on Nov 24th Clouds prevented Confederate gunners support from top of mountain Engagement named "The Battle Above the Clouds" General Ulysses Grant directed assault on Missionary Ridge on Nov 25th Thirty one Congressional Medals of Honor awarded for battles around city One given to Arthur MacArthur, father of General Douglas MacArthur National Cemetery established by General George Thomas Contains graves of more than 25,000 soldiers from ten wars: French & Indian War Revolutionary War War of 1812 Civil War Spanish American War World War I World War II Korean War Vietnam War Persian Gulf War 1864 General William Sherman began his "March to the Sea" from Chattanooga base Amassed force of 100,000 troops 1867 Largest recorded flood occurred on Tennessee River The riverboat "Cherokee" made 50 mile trip to Bridgeport, Alabama in just two hours 1869 First issue of "The Chattanooga Times" published 1870 Hamilton County courthouse moved to Chattanooga from Harrison 1872 Read House Hotel opened on New Year’s Day Located on site of old Crutchfield House Listed on National Register of Historic Sites 1878 Yellow fever epidemic swept through area 366 people died from fever 1880 First telephone exchange opened 1882 Chattanooga first received electricity 1885 Construction of Lookout Mountain’s first incline railroad began 1886 Chattanooga University opened 1890 Chickamauga/Chattanooga National Military Park dedicated Park contains 8,200 acres Is nations oldest and largest military park 1891 Walnut Street Bridge across Tennessee River opened 1895 Lookout Mountain’s second Incline Railway began operation Is steepest passenger railway in the world Steepest grade in 72.7 degrees 1898 Chickamauga Battlefield served as training base during Spanish-American War 1899 First franchised Coca-Cola bottling plant built in city Benjamin F Thomas and Joseph B Whitehead paid $1.00 each for bottling rights 1904 Hales Bar Lock and Dam completed November 13, 1913 Fort Oglethorpe established as a permanent military post 1915 Dixie Highway linked the mid-west to Florida 1917 Market Street Bridge opened 1921 Tivoli Theater opened A $43,000 Wurlitzer organ accompanied silent pictures Building now home of Chattanooga Symphony and Opera 1928 Miniature golf invented on Lookout Mountain Tom Thumb Course near Fairyland Club became first miniature golf course 1930 Engel Stadium opened Is present home of the Chattanooga Lookouts Lovell Field, city’s first airport opened 1933 Tennessee Valley Authority created TVA’s system of locks and dams created 9 foot channel throughout Tennessee River 1935 Chattanoogans voted for public power Electric Power Board created 1936 Chattanooga Free Press published first daily newspaper 1940 Chickamauga Dam dedicated by President Roosevelt on Labor Day Chickamauga Lake has 810 miles of shoreline 1941 Song "The Chattanooga Choo Choo" created by Irving Berlin Was a score for the movie "Sun Valley Serenade" Glen Miller received first ever gold record for song 1943 Fort Oglethorpe designated Third Women’s Army Auxilary Corps training center Fort closed Dec 31, 1946 1954 Chattanooga’s first TV station, Channel 12 went on air 1958 Golden Gateway urban renewal began 1962 Desegregation of city and county schools began 1965 Chattanooga State Technical Community College opened 1969 University of Chattanooga and Chattanooga City College merged with University of Tennessee 1971 Railroad passenger service ended 1973 Walnut Street Bridge closed Southern Railroad station became part of Chattanooga Choo Choo Vacation Complex 1976 Bicentennial Library opened 1980 TVA completed Raccoon Mountain Pump-Storage-Hydro Plant Sequoya Nuclear Plant opened 1984 First Riverbend Festival celebrated 1985 Convention & Trade Center Opened The Southern Belle, a 500 passenger riverboat began operating from Ross’s Landing The "Tennessee River Master Plan" approved to revitalize area 1989 First section of Tennessee Riverpark completed near Chickamauga Dam 1993 Tennessee Aquarium along with Ross’s Landing Park and Plaza opened 1995 Creative Discovery Museum opened 1996 IMAX 3D Theater opened