Chattanooga history for September

Chattanooga remembers 9-11 victims on 9-11-11
Credit Brad Snoke

September is a full month of historical happenings for Chattanooga and the surrounding area. Between the Civil War events, including the Battle of Chickamauga, and the births and deaths of famous Chattanoogans, we have a busy month. Read on to discover what other interesting things happened in Chattanooga during the month of September.

This day in Chattanooga’s history for September…

1^st 1873, The Chattanooga Daily Commercial was established. It would eventually become the Chattanooga Weekly Commercial, with publication lasting until February 10, 1888. 

2^nd 1885, An African-American militia unit and drill team, the Chattanooga Light Infantry, was composed of 36 members. They received new uniforms on this day.

3^rd 1868, William L. Frierson, mayor of Chattanooga from 1905 to 1907, was born in Shelbyville, Tennessee.

5^th 2011, Most rainfall in one day was recorded at 9.49” per NOAA website.

Living historians march at Chickamauga Battlefield
Credit: Brad Snoke

8^th 1863, Confederate General Bragg (1817-1876) evacuated Chattanooga allowing Union General Rosecrans to enter the city.

9^th 1863, Federal troops under the leadership of Union General William Rosecrans occupied Chattanooga with little resistance. Wilder’s Lightening Brigade enters Chattanooga.

9^th 2007, Small Twin turboprop plane ran out of fuel and crashed into the parking lot of Brainerd Village (2000 feet from runway). The plane ran into 2 parked cars, a telephone pole and one car traveling down Brainerd Road. No one was killed in the incident.

11^th 2001, The terrorist attack on the twin towers touches Chattanooga and the country as a whole.

12^th 1893, Baylor School opens

12^th 1906, Girls Preparatory School opens

14^th 1840, Future Mayor Henry Frederick Temple was born in Utica, New York. He was elected during 1880 and volunteered to serve without a salary.

15^th 1851, JW White, a prominent African-American lawyer, was born in Cherokee County, Alabama. White served Chattanooga’s public as a Justice of the Peace, an alderman, and a tax assessor.

15^th 1886, UTC opened its doors as Chattanooga University with 8 faculty members and 140 students.

19^th 1862, Union Maj. Gen. Rosecrans and Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg begin a battle that would become the second bloodiest battle of the Civil War and the Union’s most significant defeat—The Battle of Chickamauga.

19^th 1895, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park was dedicated as the first National Military Park in the United Sates.

Native American images on Chattanooga's riverfront.
Credit: Brad Snoke

20^th 1782, John Sevier’s militia defeated the Cherokee on Lookout Mountain. This defeat led to the destruction of the Chickamauga towns in this area. It also caused the evacuation of Chief Dragging Canoe (1738-1792) and the Cherokees to the west and south.

20^th 1842, GW Sewell, an African-American that was active in Chattanooga’s politics, was born in Shelby County. Sewell was a Chattanooga barber who served as a Justice of the Peace for Hamilton County Court, an alderman in 1871 and a Federal Court Cryer in Hamilton County for 20 years.

20^th 1863, Confederates score victory at the Battle of Chickamauga at a cost of 18,454 in casualties and losses. This compares to 16,170 in casualties and losses for the Union.

23^rd 1863, Due to the heavy Union losses during the Battle of Chickamauga, Lincoln dispatched General Joseph Hooker and 23,000 men from Army of Potomac.

24^th 1963, Mayor Ralph H. Kelley declared all city facilities, including public buildings, parks, playgrounds, golf courses, swimming pools and community centers,  “open to all”. This action spearheaded Chattanooga into the desegregation movement.

26^th 1937- Chattanooga’s Empress of the Blues, Bessie Smith, died at age 43. During the 1920’s Bessie Smith was the highest paid African-American entertainer of the day.

28^th 1863 Union generals Alexander M. McCook and Thomas Crittenden are blamed for Chickamauga defeat and lose their command.

29^th 1863 Ulysses S. Grant ordered by Abraham Lincoln to Chattanooga. Grant relieves Rosecrans of his duty and takes command of the Union Army in Chattanooga.

Bikes in front of Outdoor Chattanooga
Credit: Brad Snoke

September 2004 City appoints Rob Healy as the first-ever executive director of Outdoor Chattanooga, an organization that promotes outdoor recreation.

September 2010 EPB offers the fastest internet service in the United States (a gigabit a second).

Chattanooga, 21 Feet and the Richmond Family

Picture by Brad Snoke

On Wednesday, January 2, 1929, The Chattanooga Times included a small article titled “Twenty-One Feet on Market Street Sold for $125,000”. The headline intrigued me even though there were tons of other interesting titles, such as “West will hear of Chattanooga” and “Chase ends in wreck; Transporter Jailed”. In a nutshell, the article was about the sale of a former drug store for a large amount of money, $125,000 to be exact, which was a good amount of money for the early days of the Great Depression. I wanted to find out more about the store and its “new” owner.

The article stated the property was located at 803 Market Street. It was 21½ feet wide (front) by 100 feet deep. It had been owned and occupied by Mr. Jo Anderson for five years. The building in which the store set was a two-story building. The Nisely company took up most of the larger building but a portion of it held a candy store owned by Louis Schneider. The store was purchased by Edward Dean Richmond and his sister, Mrs. Ruth Richmond Thomasson for the above mentioned $125,000 (equivalent to $1,682,902.05 in today’s money).

In 2013, 803 Market Street is the home of Kennedy & Associates (lawyers) and is in the same block as Fischer Evans, which was in business at the time of the 1929 purchase, in downtown Chattanooga. The Nisely Company and the candy store have been gone for many years. So the stores have changed and their time has passed, but what about Edward Dean Richmond and his sister Ruth? Who were they?

Well, these siblings had a legacy of successful businessmen in their lineage. Their grandfather, Dean Richmond, was president of the New York Central railroad. While in charge of the New York Central Railroad, Dean constructed the first four-track railroad in America. At his death, he left an estate worth (in 19^th century currency) ten million dollars. Their father, Edward Gould Richmond, was a man of many talents and is even credited with bringing manufacturing to Chattanooga. He served as mayor of Bavaria, New York and a bank president in Denver, Colorado. Upon his arrival in Chattanooga, he immediately set about turning Chattanooga into a manufacturing center. He founded the Richmond Cotton Oil Company (a pioneer in southern production of cotton seed oil), Richmond Hosiery Mills, Richmond Spinning Mills and other enterprises. In Americana (American Historical Magazine,) he is described as being one of the South’s leading manufacturers and philanthropists.

According to the magazine, Americana (American Historical Magazine) in the 1914 issue, Edward and Ruth Richmond were the children of Edward Gould Richmond, of Attica, New York and Caroline Pfau of Cincinnati. Edward Dean was born April 7, 1892 and his sister Ruth was born February 12, 1896 in Chattanooga, TN. In 1901, the family moved into one of Chattanooga’s finest homes, former mayor, Edmond G. Watkin’s home (now the Mayor’s Mansion in the Fortwood District).  Edward Dean died unmarried, but Ruth married Eugene Thomasson and would eventually move to Pennsylvania. They would leave a legacy in Chattanooga, though. It was called the Richmond Memorial Room otherwise known as the Children’s Room at the Chattanooga Public Library.

Apparently, Chattanooga owes a good amount to this family. Not only did Edward Gould promote manufacturing in Chattanooga, he and his estate contributed liberally to every organized charity in Chattanooga, according to an editorial in the local newspaper. His wife donated a large tract of land to Hamilton County at Signal Point (Signal Mountain), known as Richmond Park, for a public park. Upon Edward  Dean’s death, following in his father’s steps, he also left many donations to different charitable groups across Chattanooga.

It is amazing to think that a small article in an old newspaper would lead to such an important part of Chattanooga’s history. I will have to keep my eyes open to see if I can find out what happened to the Richmonds’ store.