OVERVIEW OF CHATTANOOGA, TN

In the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, along the Tennessee River is the city of Chattanooga. This city is the fourth –largest city in the state and one of the principal cities of East Tennessee aside from Knoxville. Most call Chattanooga as a transit hub because it is where multiple highways and railroads intersect. 

The first people in Chattanooga were Native Americans. The earliest settlers called the area their home during the Upper Paleolithic period with continuous occupations during the many Native American tribal occupations such as the Archaic, Mississippian, Woodland and Cherokee. The earliest occupation of the Cherokee tribe dates from the time of Dragging Canoe in 1776. He moved downriver to establish Native American resistance in the Cherokee-American wars. 

It was in 1838 when US government forced the Cherokee tribe and other Native Americans from southern US states to relocate to Indian Territory or Oklahoma. During the Civil War, Chattanooga was at the center of the battle. The area was bombarded by the Chickamauga Campaign, Union artillery as a diversion tactic and afterwards occupied it on September 9, 1863. After the Battle of Chickamauga, the Union Army retreated to Chattanooga. The Battles for Chattanooga stated when Union forces led by United States President and Major General Ulysses S. Grant supported troops at Chattanooga. 

The Battle for Lookout Mountain was fought the next day taking the Confederates to the mountain. Grant’s army took the Confederates in the Battle of Missionary Ridge. These events were followed by the Atlanta Campaign starting in Georgia moving to the southeast. After the war, Chattanooga became a railroad hub and an industrial manufacturing center.

Chattanooga has set the records set when it comes to the largest flood in history. It was in 1867 when a 58-foot flood has completely besieged the city. After the completion of the city’s reservoir system, the highest recorded flood was nearly 37 feet and this happened in 1973. Chattanooga was a priority in the creation of the TVA reservoir system and has remained as a priority in the 21st century. 

Chattanooga is popular for its scenic mountains. The same mountains also served as a trap for industrial pollution which settled over the community. In 1969, the federal government declared the city has the dirtiest air in the entire United States. But these were slowly overcome by Chattanooga as companies finally cleaned up their act.

In 1958, Chattanooga was known as one of the smallest cities in the United States with three television stations running on the VHF band. The city was also the first to launch a one-gigabit a second internet service in the United States in September 2010 through EPB, a city-owned utility.

Chattanooga is known for its history as well as its natural beauty. It has a downtown elevation that lies between the ridge-and-valley area of the Appalachian Mountains and the Cumberland Plateau. Because of its position, it has earned its name “Scenic City.” It is also known as “Gig City” because it claims that it has the fastest internet service in the Western Hemisphere. Finally, the city is also known for the 1941 song “Chattanooga Choo Choo” by Glenn Miller.