Nancy Ellis

The Perfect Fit

Chattanooga TN Area Guide

Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in Tennessee and the seat of Hamilton County.  Chattanooga is nestled in a bend of the Tennessee River and surrounded by mountains and lakes, Chattanooga is so beautiful it has received national recognition for the renaissance of its beautiful downtown and redevelopment of its riverfront.  Chattanooga's official nickname is the "Scenic City" and has been winning acclaim for their unique way of working together to produce national best practices for cleaning up air pollution, downtown revitalization, affordable housing, and much more. The city is notable for leveraging development funds through effective public/private partnerships, with significant civic involvement on the part of private foundations. Chattanooga was one of the first US cities to effectively use a citizen visioning process to set specific long-range goals to enrich the lives of residents and visitors. Chattanooga lies approximately 120 miles to the northwest of Atlanta, Georgia.

Chattanooga History

(The following information on Chattanooga’s history was directly sourced from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chattanooga,_Tennessee. For more information, please click on the blue link.)
The first inhabitants of the Chattanooga area were Native American Indians. Sites dating back to the Upper Paleolithic period showed continuous occupation through the Archaic, Woodland, Mississippian (900-1650), Muskogean and Cherokee (1776-1838) periods.
Chief John Ross was said to have stated that Chattanooga was Cherokee for "The Big Catch" because of good fishing on the Tennessee River.
A late 19th century history recounted:

With only occasional allusion to the various interpretations of Cherokee names, which have so long been accepted as true, their actual meaning, as derived from John Ross, the celebrated Cherokee chief, and from Lewis Ross, his brother, are here given. Chattanooga, originally was the name of a small Indian hamlet, situated near the base of Lookout Mountain, on the bank of Chattanooga creek. It means, in the Cherokee language, "to draw fish out of water", and hence was applied to the collection of huts, which were occupied by Indian fishermen. The humble hamlet disappeared, and its name, at first suggestive and appropriate, was inherited by the town of the white man, with meaningless application. A somewhat similar name was applied by the Cherokees to the cliffs, rising boldly from the river above the town, which was derived from Clanoowah, the name of a warlike but diminutive hawk, which was supposed to embody the spirit of the tribe. These cliffs were the favorite nesting-place of the bird, and hence a name was given which expressed this fact, and which, perhaps, has suggested the myth, that 'Chattanooga' means 'eagle's nest.'
The earliest Cherokee occupation dates from Dragging Canoe, who in 1776 separated himself and moved downriver from the main tribe to establish Native American resistance (see Chickamauga Wars) to European settlement in the southeastern United States. In 1816 John Ross, who later became Principal Chief, settled here and established Ross's Landing. It became one of the centers of Cherokee Nation settlement, which also extended into Georgia and Alabama.

In 1838 the US government forced the Cherokees, along with other Native American Indians from southeastern U.S. states, to relocate in Oklahoma. Their journey west became known as the "Trail of Tears" for their exile and fatalities along the way. The US Army used Ross's Landing as the site of one of three large internment camps, or "emigration depots", where Native Americans were held prior to the journey on the Trail of Tears. The other two were Fort Payne, Alabama and the largest at Fort Cass, Tennessee.

During the American Civil War, Chattanooga was a center of battle. During the Chickamauga Campaign, Union artillery bombarded Chattanooga as a diversion and occupied it on September 9, 1863. Following the Battle of Chickamauga, the defeated Union Army retreated to safety in Chattanooga. On November 23, 1863, the Battles for Chattanooga began when Union forces led by Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant reinforced troops at Chattanooga and advanced to Orchard Knob against Confederate troops besieging the city. The next day, the Battle of Lookout Mountain was fought, driving the Confederates off the mountain. On November 25, Grant's army routed the Confederates in the Battle of Missionary Ridge. These battles were followed the next spring by the Atlanta Campaign, beginning just over the nearby state line in Georgia and moving southeastward.

After the war ended, the city became a major railroad hub and industrial and manufacturing center. By the 1930s it was known as the "Dynamo of Dixie", inspiring the 1941 Glenn Miller big-band swing song "Chattanooga Choo Choo". The same mountains that provided Chattanooga's scenic backdrop became shrouded by the industrial pollutants that they trapped and held over the community.

In 1969, the federal government declared that Chattanooga's air was the dirtiest in the nation. But environmental crises were not the only problems plaguing the city. Like other early industrial cities, Chattanooga entered the 1980s with serious socioeconomic challenges, including job layoffs due to deindustrialization, a deteriorating city infrastructure, racial tensions and social division. Because of these factors, in the 1980's, Chattanooga lost over 10 percent of its population. However, since the 1980's, Chattanooga has become the only major city in the United States to regain growth in the 2 decades since.

In recent years, private and governmental resources have been invested in transforming the city's tarnished image. They have worked to revitalize its downtown and riverfront areas, making use of its natural resources. An early cornerstone of this project was the restoration of the historic Walnut Street Bridge. The Walnut Street Bridge is the oldest surviving bridge of its kind in the Southeastern United States.

Efforts to improve the city include the "21st Century Waterfront Plan" - a $120 million redevelopment of the Chattanooga waterfront and downtown area. The Tennessee Aquarium has become a major waterfront attraction that has helped to spur neighborhood development. Over the last ten years the city has won three national awards for outstanding "livability", and nine Gunther Blue Ribbon Awards for excellence in housing and consolidated planning.

Chattanooga Parks & Recreation

The City of Chattanooga Parks and Recreation Department offers a wide range of recreation programs and services.
It is the mission of the Recreation Division to provide diverse recreation and lesiure opportunities for all ages and abilities in a safe well maintained environment.  Our goal is to build relationships, create partnerships, and facilitate programs that accommodate the overall interests and needs of our community.
The City of Chattanooga operates 16 neighborhood recreation centers.  Each of these centers serve youth, teens, adults, families, and senior citizens with a varieyt of classes and life-long learning, sports and wellness programs, enrichment and social activities.  The centers are equipped with meeting rooms, classrooms, gymnasiums, and public outdoor spaces that include playgrounds, sports fields, walking trails, and outdoor pavilions. 
Three of the recreation centers: Brainerd, Carver, and South Chattanooga have public swimming pools.  Some of the centers have special rooms for art, dance, recreational games, and house neighborhood reading centers/libraries.
The City of Chattanooga has an extensive network of public parks, playgrounds, walking trails, and leisure facilities providing residents and visitors with approximately 4,000 acres of park space for passive and active recreation which include parks downtown,  neighborhood parks, sports and recreational areas, and linear greenway parks.

The City's close proximity to lakes, rivers, and mountains also provide additional opportunities for recreational fun. 

Brainerd Park
Park featuring tennis courts and a recreation center with indoor basketball court, computer lab, game room, indoor heated pool, Joe Johnson Reading Center, and community meeting rooms.

Coolidge Park
Popular downtown park on Chattanooga's Northshore waterfront.  Coolidge Park features a beautifully restored antique carousel, an enclosed pavilion, an interactive play fountain, climbing wall, picnic areas, the Outdoor Chattanooga Center, and lots of open space.  It is part of the Tennessee Riverwalk System, a 10 mile long public park along the Tennessee River. 

Miller Park
This center city park has undergone a renovation with new benches, lighting, and landscaping. It has a large fountain, grassy areas, a variety of plantings, and provides a pleasant outdoor space for dowtown workers. Pets are permitted in this downtown park.

Rivermont Park
A 61-acre park just across the river from downtown which has picnic pavilions, shelters, a walking trail, tennis courts, a boat ramp, four ball fields, Champions Club Tennis Complex, and handicap-accessible playground.

Tennessee Aquarium Plaza
This park surrounds the Tennessee Aquarium and is like an outdoor museum. It consists of a series of paved and landscaped areas that go toward the river. A stream in the center of the two-acre plaza winds throughout the major areas that make up our regional history and symbolizes how the river was largely responsible for Chattanooga's development. All Facilities in the park are designed for interaction. A great place to discover!

For a complete list of parks in the area click here http://www.chattanooga.gov/PRAC/30_DirectoryParkFacilities.htm

Chattanooga Events

Southern Brewers Festival
Microbrewers from across the country will present over 30 ales and lagers in downtown Chattanooga on the newly revitalized waterfront, including live music and plenty of food

Bessie Smith Heritage Festival
http://www.bessiesmithheritagefestival.com
This festival is held at the Bessie Smith Cultural Festival and promotes African and African-American heritage through presenting performers and visual artists who exhibit cultural, educational and artistic excellence

GoFest
http://www.gofestchattanooga.org
The 4th annual GoFest, held at the Chattanooga Zoo at Warner Park, provides people with disabilities & their families resources & opportunities to enable individuals to realize their maximum potential, adaptive athletics, job fair, adaptive horseback riding, arts, crafts, climbing wall and food.

For a complete list of events in the area visit the events calendar by clicking here http://www.chattanoogafun.com/events

Chattanooga Attractions

Battles for Chattanooga Electric Map
http://www.battlesforchattanooga.com
Located on top of Lookout Mountain across from Point Park Battlefield. A 3-dimensional presentation of Chattanooga's Civil War history featuring theater-seating and audio tape presentation. Hear the sounds of battle as you learn about Lookout Mountain's 'Battle Above the Clouds' and Sherman's assault on Missionary Ridge before his famous 'March to the Sea'. On display are weapons, guns, equipment, and other Civil War artifacts. Bookstore and gift shop.

Chattanooga Choo Choo
http://www.choochoo.com
It's a train. It's a song. It's a hotel. Welcome to one of the South's most renowned and unique landmarks. The Choo Choo combines history and fun in a delightful blend that appeals to visitors of all ages. We have just what you need to make this your home away from home. Experience our train cars that you can sleep in, the array of restaurants and shopping, the appealing swimming pools, one of the world's largest working "HO" gauge model railroads, the authentic New Orleans trolley, the beautifully landscaped gardens, and our fascination with restoring the history of a bygone era. Come and encounter the wonder of the Chattanooga Choo Choo!
The Chattanooga Choo Choo offers a variety of vacation packages.

Creative Discovery Museum
http://www.cdmfun.org
Created with children's input, Creative Discovery Museum is full of 'WOW' for adults and kids. With a wide variety of fun, hands-on exhibits, the Museum inspires a love for learning through play. Whether you create a clay sculpture in our Artists' Studio, zoom a message through a pneumatic tube in Inventors' Clubhouse, dig for dinosaur bones in Excavation Station, or create an ensemble cast of characters in our Back Alley Theatre, Creative Discovery Museum has it all. Children 4 years and younger can spend time tinkering in the garage or exploring the infant garden of Little Yellow House. All ages can discover floods of fun in RiverPlay's 2 1/2 story high climbing structure and design an interactive watercourse where you can sail boats, learn about locks and dams, and shoot jets of water to make whirligigs spin! 

International Towing and Recovery Museum, Inc. http://www.internationaltowingmuseum.org
Come take a walk through history and learn how the towing and recovery industry started right here in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1916. See 18 antique tow trucks and two Model T automobiles on display as well as hundreds of collectible toy tow trucks. Visit our unique gift shop with towing related items not found anywhere else. Take time to walk through our Wall of the Fallen memorial grounds dedicated to the men and women who have lost their lives in the line of service in the towing & recovery industry. Open 7 days a week, closed for major holidays.

Tennessee Valley Railroad
http://www.tvrail.com
Ride 'Railroadings Golden Age' aboard the Tennessee Valley Railroad's restored vintage trains. It's a trip into history on a rolling time machine! Missionary Ridge Local trains run daily mid-March through October and weekends only in November. Additional services offered throughout the year include Chickamauga Turn trains to Chickamauga, Georgia on summer weekends, Dixie Land Special excursions into northwest Georgia, and North Pole Limited trains during the holidays

For a complete list of attractions in the area click here http://www.chattanoogafun.com/attractions

For more information on Chattanooga TN visit the official website by clicking here http://www.chattanooga.gov

For the Chattanooga Visitors Bureau website click here http://www.chattanoogafun.com

For the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce website click here http://www.chattanoogachamber.com