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| Lookout Mountain – High Point | |
|---|---|
 Lookout Mountain as viewed from downtown Chattanooga | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 2,389 ft (728 m) NAVD 88[1] |
| Prominence | 1,532 ft (467 m)[2] |
| Listing | Highest point in Walker County[2] |
| Coordinates | 34°51′49″N85°23′33″W / 34.863712778°N 85.392452703°W /34.863712778; -85.392452703[1] |
| Geography | |
  High Point Location in Georgia Show map of Georgia High Point High Point (the United States) Show map of the United States | |
| Location | Walker County,Georgia, US |
| Parent range | Cumberland Plateau |
| Topo map | USGS Durham |
Lookout Mountain is a mountainridge at the northwest corner of theU.S. state ofGeorgia, the northeast corner ofAlabama, and along the southeasternTennessee state line inChattanooga. Lookout Mountain was the scene of the 18th-century "Last Battle of the Cherokees" in this area during theNickajack Expedition. On November 24, 1863, during theAmerican Civil War, theBattle of Lookout Mountain took place here.
The name appears on maps as early asMathew Carey's 1795 "Map of The Tennessee Government."[3]
Lookout Mountain andSand Mountain (to the southwest) make up a large portion of the southernmost end of theCumberland Plateau. The area was lifted from an ancient sea, and worn down by erosion for millions of years. The summit, called "High Point", is just east of Thompsonville inWalker County, Georgia, with an elevation of 2,392 feet (729 m) above sea level. The foothills of the mountain extend intoChickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park.[citation needed]
The caves ofRuby Falls are in Lookout Mountain, and the rock formations of the "City of Rocks" (orRock City) attraction are situated on the ridge. The area is home to theLookout Mountain Incline Railway,Covenant College, and a hang-gliding school. Lookout Mountain is one of Chattanooga's most visitedtourist attractions.
Civil War-related landmarks include "Point Park", operated by the National Park Service, and theCravens House. Nearby are Georgia'sCloudland Canyon andCloudland Canyon State Park.[citation needed]
The southwestern section of Lookout Mountain is in northeastern Alabama. TheLittle River flows over the mountain inLittle River Canyon National Preserve and theDeSoto Falls inDeSoto State Park. TheNoccalula Falls Park, featuring a pioneer village showcasing several nineteenth-century homes, is at the southern terminus of Lookout Mountain, inGadsden, Alabama. Local legend claims that the 90-foot falls' namesake, Noccalula, jumped to her death because she could not marry the man she loved.[citation needed]
White water sports and rock-climbing (offering views of theCoosa River Basin) are this area's key attractions.[citation needed]
From the "Rock City" point, a marker claims that sevenU.S. states can be seen:Tennessee,Kentucky,Virginia,South Carolina,North Carolina,Georgia, andAlabama. The claim is repeated on numerous barn roofs in the surrounding area. No scientific investigation has upheld this claim.[4]
On the northwest side of Lookout Mountain, Sunset Rock is a popular trailhead and tourist stop. It is part of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga Military State Park, the largest and oldest Civil War national park.[5][6] Once known as Point Lookout, Sunset Rock provides a view of theTennessee River,Signal Mountain and Prentice Cooper State Forest.[7][8] The 100-foot cliff and moderate temperatures invite heavy traffic for its many climbing routes, which were completed in 1960. Sunset Rock is mainly sandstone, making for easier routing and climbing. Route development continued through the 1960s and 1970s. In the 1980s, routers pushed the grades ever higher. Climbing here is especially popular in the autumn months due to cooler weather.[9]
Sunset Rock is attractive to Civil War enthusiasts due to its history; it has aTennessee Historical Commission Marker at the head of the trail, describing its Civil War battle history. Confederate GeneralsBraxton Bragg andJames Longstreet[10] used Sunset Rock as a lookout in 1863 where they were able to track the movement of the Union troops as they entered Lookout Valley. It is claimed that, unknown to Longstreet, the Union troops could see him on Sunset Rock from the valley, where they were able to decipher the Confederate code, giving them the ability to anticipate the next moves of the Confederates.[11] This resulted in theBattle of Wauhatchie, in which the Confederate army attempted to remove the Union forces from the river and block their supply lines. The attempt was unsuccessful; with the consequence that the Union forces were able to lift the siege of Chattanooga.[citation needed]
TheChickamauga people, a branch of CherokeeNative Americans, lived in the Chattanooga area. The Chickamauga called the mountain Chat-a-nu-ga; hence the name of the city. Research suggests the mountain was inhabited, although no physical evidence has been found. On top of the mountain, the pattern of boulders suggest lanes or walls were once there.[12]
During theRevolutionary War, a battle between forces ofJohn Sevier'sWashington District Regiment and those of ChiefDragging Canoe of theChickamauga Cherokee, may have taken place on Lookout Mountain on September 20, 1782. Archaeologist and ethno-historian, Raymond Evans, has asserted that such a battle could not have taken place.[13] However, a battle between militia forces underJoseph Martin, at the time Superintendent for Indian Affairs for bothVirginia andNorth Carolina, and those of Dragging Canoe did occur there in August 1788.[14][15][16][17]
It was reported that on August 28, 1823, Daniel S. Butrick and William Chamberlain arrived at Lookout Mountain to perform missionary work with Native Americans.[citation needed] After theTrail of Tears, land taken from thetribes was purchased by the highest bidder without a lottery of land parcels. This method of distributing land caused much of Lookout Mountain to be owned by a few wealthy Chattanooga families.[citation needed]
The aptly named Summertown, on top of the mountain, was barely accessible from a small rutted turnpike which had been built in 1852 by Colonel James A. Whiteside. Whiteside, a native ofDanville, Kentucky, owned a summer home which he converted into a hotel with several cottages. Naturalists who came to the area and visited the summit, such asBradford Torrey, thought the cottages spoiled the environment and made it look like a cheap resort. Whiteside had purchased much of the land on the mountain's summit.[citation needed] Another wealthy Chattanoogan, Robert Cravens, had purchased most of the land on the side of the mountain. Cravens was also instrumental in developing the area, and moved into the house he built (the Cravens House) in 1855. Within a few years, about 25 families regularly summered on the mountain.[citation needed]
Lookout Mountain's Sunset Rock was once the home to the photo shop of JB Linn.[18] After the Union forces under Major GeneralJoseph Hooker took over the mountain, Linn gained access to Sunset Rock (then called Point Lookout). He built a small shack there and named it "Gallery Point Lookout".[citation needed] In December 1863, he and his brother began taking photographs of many war commanders and officers, as well as wealthy civilians in the area. They became very successful with these pictures. The Gallery Point Lookout House is no longer in existence, but many of Linn's photographs still exist.[citation needed]
On November 24, 1863, the Battle of Lookout Mountain was fought on the slopes of the mountain. The majority of hand-to-hand combat took place near Cravens' house (about halfway to the summit). Lookout Mountain's shape and location can in some conditions cause a unique weather phenomenon in the area: after dawn, fog will sometimes descend from the cooler mountaintop and stop about halfway down. Such an event took place the day of the battle and is the reason for its romanticized name, the "Battle Above the Clouds". The battle was won byUnion forces, enabling them to lift theConfederate siege of Chattanooga.[citation needed]
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When cases ofYellow fever began to increase in the United States, the Chattanooga population believed that the city was immune to any possibility of an epidemic because of its mountain climate. In 1878, two local residents died of the disease, throwing the city into a panic that led some 12,000 people to flee. Many of these went up the mountain, believing the climate would offer some protection against the disease. After the epidemic passed, many people complained about the inconvenient and complicated travel up the mountain, and the St. Elmo Turnpike (Ochs Highway) was created to help with access to the mountain.[19] Early in the 1900s, Lookout Mountain was incorporated as a town.[citation needed]
The twentieth century saw some wealthy businessmen settle permanently on the mountain, but its attraction as a tourist destination also grew.Entrepreneurs — among themGarnet Carter, J.B. Pound, O.B. Andrews, and Leo Lambert — began developing, improving, and marketing attractions in the 1910s and 1920s.[citation needed]
Today, tourist attractions include:
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