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IMAGES
From
Nostalgiaville |
NOTE: A Click of your Mouse on most of the pictures will enlarge them for better viewing
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THE WATCHER SERIES OF THE 1980'S (By Jim Collins) |
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| CHECKER WATCHER (1) | BIG WHEEL WATCHER (2) | TOP HAT WATCHER (4) | MICKEY & SNOW WHITE (5) | STAMFORD WATCHER (6) |
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| MICKEY WATCHER (7) | WATCHER IN A STRAW HAT (10) | WATCHER WITH AN ANGEL (11) | VOL WATCHER (12) | FALLEN ANGEL (13) | YELLOW POLE WATCHER (14) |
| 8 VETERANS BRIDGE |
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In 1984, the Veterans Bridge became the fourth bridge in the downtown area, though only three were traversable at the time. |
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VETERANS BRIDGE |
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MACLELLAN ISLAND
SANCTUARY 900 N. Sanctuary Rd 18 acre wildlife sanctuary Highlighted by walking trails, wildflowers, and great blue herons Admission charged |
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ISLAND- TRISTAN de LUNA EXPEDITION In 1560, archaeologists believe that the island was the site of a confrontation between Spanish soldiers from the Tristan de Luna expedition and members of the Napochie tribe. Prior to the event, the Spaniards formed an alliance with a Coosa war party from north Georgia. When the Napochies stopped paying a traditional tribute to the Coosa chief, a combined force of Spanish soldiers and Coosa warriors attacked their village, located at today's Audubon Acres, 7.5 miles to the east. The village was burned to the ground, but the Napochies escaped. They were followed to Maclellan Island where a brief encounter occurred. Guns were a new experience for Native Americans, and the Napochies surrendered after a Spanish soldier fired a matchlock musket killing one of their members. In 1839, Thomas Crutchfield Sr registered the island as "Ross's Landing Island". The primary means of crossing the river at that time was a "swing ferry", also known as a "flying ferry". The island's ownership changed frequently during the 1800's and early 1900's. In 1910, the Chattanooga Estates Company acquired it. During that time, large advertising signs were erected and loud parties reported on the island. C E James, president of Chattanooga Estates, offered the island as a park on the condition that a bridge be built there. The deal was rejected. As a result of the flood of 1917, the advertising signs were swept away, and the trespassers were dispersed. Banding together, a group of residents of Bluff View called the "Cliff Dwellers" bought the island. One of the residents, Robert J Maclellan bought out the rest and donated the island in 1954 to the Audubon Society. Today, through his generosity, the island hosts field trips for nature study. |
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Passage across the river was by ferry including the "swing ferry" that was connected to the island in front of you. This island was first known as Chattanooga Island and later as Maclellan Island. The Kestersons at one time lived on the island and farmed it, though they had to make several hasty retreats in times of high water. The island is now owned by the Audubon Society and kept as a nature preserve. |
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MACLELLAN ISLAND |
| 9 BATTERY PLACE |
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| 10 ROWING CENTER (MILE 2.1) |
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"Pit Stop" center along the Trail |
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Self portrait on the Trail |
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| 11 CURTIN POLE ROAD (MILE 3.3) |
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| 12 AMNICOLA MARSH (MILE 4.6) |
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| AMNICOLA FARM Amnicola was an antebellum estate owned by Thomas Crutchfield. He named the farm "Amnicola", which in Latin means "dwelling by the river". The farm was the site where General Sherman's troops crossed the Tennessee River prior to the Battle of Missionary Ridge. The house served as a field hospital during the conflict. In the morning of November 24, 1863, the Crutchfield family awoke to find their farm occupied by several thousand soldiers from the Union's Army of the Tennessee, who had arrived by pontoon boats during the night. Under the command of General William Tecumseh Sherman, the troops immediately began digging rifle trenches and fortifications. A floating bridge was built across the Tennessee River, and by afternoon, some 17,000 men had crossed to attack Confederate positions on the north end of Missionary Ridge. After the battle, a field hospital was set i[ at Amnicola, and in the days that followed, over a thousand wounded soldiers were treated there. The war left Amnicola in shambles. Years of work were required to rebuild. Crutchfield succeeded in restoring the plantation and its beautiful gardens. He was widely known for his advanced farming practices, orchards, sheep, and cattle. With his generous and genial nature, Thomas Crutchfield Jr had great influence on the early development of Chattanooga. He died in 1886. |
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AMNICOLA Amnicola was the name of a large estate once owned by Thomas Crutchfield Jr. The Amnicola property stretched from South Chickamauga Creek on the north to Citico Creek at the Rowing Center on the south and from the Tennessee River east to the base of Missionary Ridge. Thomas Crutchfield Jr was born in 1830 in Athens, Tennessee, and moved to Chattanooga in 1848. After his father's death, he owned and managed the Crutchfield House, which was Chattanooga's first hotel and stood on the site of today's Read House Hotel. |
| Caught up in the turbulent events at the onset of the Civil War, Crutchfield sold the hotel in 1861 and moved his family to safety at an outlying farm that he named Amnicola, Latin meaning "dwelling by the river". In seeking to avoid the conflict, Mr Crutchfield instead found his family at a focal point in the Battle of Missionary Ridge. Following the Battle of Chickamauga, Union troops withdrew to Chattanooga while Confederate forces held the high ground on the mountains and ridges around the town. After two months of short rations, the Union army attempted to break the siege. |
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| AMNICOLA MARSH Amnicola Marsh is a bird and wildlife sanctuary. The marsh is home to an amazing variety of plants and animals. The marsh was named after Thomas Crutchfield's farm that was located here. The trail along the marsh includes interpretive exhibits explaining the marshland wildlife and ecosystem. |
| Check out this link to find "MORE THEN YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT AMNICOLA MARSH POND LIFE" taken from the information presented along this section of trail. |
| 13 RIVER PORT (MILE 5.5) |
| 14 RIVER POINT |
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PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE The Riverwalk crosses South Chickamauga Creek on a combination of three steel bridge segments spanning a total distance of 329 feet. The bridge provides dramatic views of the river and creek |
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"Pit Stop" center along the Trail |
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| 15 FISHING PARK (MILE 6.4) |
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"Pit Stop" center along the Trail |
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| CATCH OF THE DAY | GREAT BLUE HERON WITH OLIVE BRANCH | GOING FOR A WALK |
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| FISHING PIERS IN FISHING PARK |
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The tree-covered mound, which you see before you, dates to the Woodland Period of prehistory (900 BC - 900 AD). It was originally surrounded by an extensive village and probably used as a burial mound for high-ranking individuals. |
| Named after the carpet mill once located next to it, Roxbury Mound is the best preserved example of prehistoric earthworks remaining in Chattanooga. A small Cherokee settlement from the 18th century is also documented for this general location. Sadly, the mound was extensively looted during the early 20th century, and the village area was damaged by construction activities. Only small, scattered remnants of a once-thriving Native American community are found today. |
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ROXBURY WOODLAND MOUND |
| 16 C B ROBINSON BRIDGE (MILE 6.6) |
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C B ROBINSON BRIDGE (1980'S) In the 1980's increasing traffic pressures in the outlying areas led to the construction of the C B Robinson Bridge just south of the Chickamauga Dam, and to the widening of the bridge across the dam. |
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| 17 CINCINNATI SOUTHERN RAILROAD BRIDGE (MILE 7.8) |
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CINCINNATI SOUTHERN RAILROAD
BRIDGE This historic railroad bridge was completed in 1888 and rebuilt in 1920. The round stone pier support near the middle of the bridge is part of the original structure. The Cincinnati Southern line provided the first major north-south passenger rail route constructed after the Civil War. Financed by the City of Cincinnati, Ohio, the line terminated in Chattanooga, a hub for rail service to the South. |
| In 1880, a Cincinnati newspaper reporter dubbed the first train leaving for Tennessee, "the Chattanooga Choo Choo". Glen Miller later popularized the name in his famous 1941 song. The bridge and rail are owned today by the City of Cincinnati. The bridge has become a favored nesting site of the rare peregrine falcon. Tennessee Ornithological Society members, as well as residents and visitors to Chattanooga, have been observing the activities of the falcons since 1997. |
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| 18 CHICKAMAUGA DAM (ABOUT 8 MILES) |
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"Pit Stop" center along the Trail |
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CHICKAMAUGA DAM AND RESERVOIR The Chickamauga Dam was built to provide flood control, navigation and electric power. Chickamauga Dam was the fourth of TVA's projects on the Tennessee River, President Franklin D Roosevelt dedicated the Dam on September 2, 1940. At 129 feet high and 5,800 feet across, construction required over 500,000 cubic yards of concrete and almost 3 million cubic yards of earth and rock. |
| The dam created Chickamauga Reservoir with 784 miles of shoreline and 36,000 acres of water surface. The Tennessee River drainage area of Chickamauga is 20,790 square miles. There are four hydroelectric generating units at Chickamauga Dam with a net winter dependable capacity of 129,000 kilowatts... enough electricity to power about 75,000 homes. The lock at Chickamauga lifts and lowers river craft about 50 feet between Nickajack and Chickamauga reservoirs. |
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Chickamauga Dam and Reservoir are named for a confederacy of Native Americans, led by Dragging Canoe who broke away from the Cherokee Nation in the late 1700's. The Chickamauga established five towns along the Tennessee River and Chickamauga Creek, which joins the river just below the dam. There are several interpretations of the word "Chickamauga". One interpretation is derived from the Creek Indian words "chica" and "mica" meaning "dwelling place of the chief". |
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BRIDGING CHICKAMAUGA DAM |
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