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Lookout Mountain Until
the mid-1800's the mountain was called 'Chatanuga' by the native American
inhabitants. This is a Cherokee word meaning 'mountains looking at each
other'. The early pioneers warned each other to 'lookout' when traversing
the rapids below the mountain for warring Indians and marouding pirates. One of the ways up the mountain is by incline train. The Incline Train was built in 1895 and still runs today. At it's steepest point (at the top) it is a 72.7% grade - making it the steepest passenger train in the world! While you are on the train, at the halfway point you will 'switch' and pass another train. The picture to the left is a view through the roof
of the train as you travel upwards. The picture of the train passing
is right under it. The high grade is shown in the picture below (see
the station at the top?). |
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Leave St. Elmo's station and walk about 4
blocks to the Patriot Point entrance. Along the way you'll pass
private parks, homes and stunning views.
The picture of me shows a good shot of Chattanooga in the background. Notice the stone gazebo and the beautiful veranda in the two pictures below. There's another shot of a private park and then Sherry sitting in the same spot I was in! |
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During the mid and latter part of the
1800’s, most of Lookout Mountain lying in Tennessee was owned by the
Whiteside and Cravens families.
In 1840, the state of Tennessee auctioned off the property formerly owned by the Cherokee Indians. Due to the lack of any roads up Lookout Mountain, Whiteside faced little competition in bidding for the property on this property. He purchased most of the mountain lying in Tennessee, paying as little at 1 cent per acre for some of it. In the mid 1850s, Robert Cravens
purchased property on the northern talus of the mountain and built the
house that today bears his name. By the 1880s, he owned almost the entire
northern slope of the mountain. His property ran from the Palisades to the
River and across to the Incline tracks. At the time of the Civil War,
about 30 families lived on the mountain during the summer and about half
that many year round. history compliments of http://www.rubyfallsrocks.com/lookout_history2.htm
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| The above picture is the entrance gate
constructed in 1905 by the U.S. Corps of Engineers. It's the largest
replica of the Corps' insignia in the world.
The picture to the right is the New York Peace Memorial. On the top a Union and Confederate solder shake hands under one flag, signifying peace and brotherly love. It's 95 feet high and 50 feet wide at the base. It's made of Tennessee Marble and Massachusetts granite. |
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| On November 23, 1863 the Battle Above the
Clouds was fought on the slopes of Lookout Mountain. The majority of hand
to hand combat took place near Cravens' house about halfway to the summit.
Lookout Mountain’s unique shape and location can in some conditions
cause a unique weather phenomenon. After dawn, fog will descend from the
cooler mountain top to the valley below and stop about halfway down. This
interesting natural occurrence took place the day of the battle and is the
reason for its romantic name.
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lookout_Mountain#Post-War This is a photo of the painting done of The Battle Above the Clouds. This painting can be seen in the visitor center. The artist is James Walker and the painting is 13 x 30 foot. There is a 500 foot descent from the upper level of Point Park to the Ochs Memorial Observatory with several tiers of steps along the trail. |
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These two 12 pounder Napolean Cannons
(named for Emperor Napoleon III of France) identify one of three
Confederate artillery positions inside the park. These were one of
the standard weapons used by both sides during the Civil War. They
could fire a 12 pound projectile 1,700 yards.
The picture below gives you another good view of the city of Chattanooga. |
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