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Offered here is a scarce late-19th-century illustrated tourist guide / promotional pamphlet for Chattanooga, Tennessee and Lookout Mountain, dating to approximately 1889–1890.
This fascinating survivor combines Civil War battlefield history, early Chattanooga tourism, railroad history, resort promotion, maps, illustrations, local legends, medical/health-resort claims, and an unusually large assortment of period commercial advertisements.
The original front cover is missing, but the surviving contents are extensive and historically rich. The rear advertising cover remains and features the Lookout Point Hotel on Lookout Mountain, promoted as a major Southern summer and winter resort under proprietor E. E. Post.
Dating evidence within the booklet includes temperature records from 1888 and February 1889, references to the recently opened Lookout Point Hotel, and contemporary advertisements for Chattanooga businesses and transportation systems active during the late 1880s.
Historical Importance
This guide was produced during the first major wave of post-Civil War battlefield tourism in Chattanooga.
Only about twenty-five years after the battles of Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, and Missionary Ridge, Chattanooga had become one of the country’s best-known destinations for veterans, families, tourists, relic hunters, and travelers wishing to see the landscapes associated with the Civil War.
The booklet captures the moment when these battlefields were transitioning from living memory into formalized tourist attractions.
Especially notable is the way the publication mixes solemn battlefield history with:
- railroad excursions
- hotel advertising
- battlefield souvenir sales
- resort development
- scenic attractions
- health tourism
- commercial promotion
It is a strong piece of Civil War memory culture and late-Victorian American tourism history.
Major Articles & Sections
Among the surviving articles and sections are:
- Early Days
- Cherokee history
- early settlement
- Ross’ Landing
- John Ross
- beginnings of Chattanooga
- History of Chattanooga
- development of the city
- Civil War destruction
- postwar rebuilding
- Chattanooga’s rapid commercial growth
- Strangers’ Guide
- railroad arrival transportation
- recommended routes for visitors
- major points of interest
- Chattanooga National Military Cemetery
- descriptions of the grounds
- burial inscriptions
- references to Union soldiers buried there
- Lookout Mountain
- natural and resorts
- battlefield views
- Lookout Mountain Incline Railway
- description of the incline travel
- transportation to Lookout Point
- Narrow Gauge Railway
- transportation around Lookout Mountain
- access to hotels and scenic attractions
- Lookout Point Hotel
- description of the hotel
- mountain accommodations
- observation areas
- springs and amenities
- resort promotion
- Sunset Park
- Sunset Rock
- The Grotto
- Garden of the Gods
- Noah’s Ark
- Damon and Pythias
- Basin Rock
- Canopy Rock
- Mohamet’s Tomb
- The Devil’s Fireplace
- Snake Rock
- The Siamese Twins
- Old Man of the Mountain
- Natural Bridge
- Telephone Rock
- Old Confederate Fort
- Rock Village
- Rock City
- descriptions of Chickamauga and other battlefield views visible from Lookout Mountain
Civil War Content
The Civil War material is one of the strongest aspects of the booklet.
Battle of Chickamauga
The guide recounts the 1863 Battle of Chickamauga, including:
- Lookout Mountain
- battlefield casualties
“Battle Above the Clouds”
The celebrated fighting on Lookout Mountain receives its own section, describing Hooker’s assault and the battle that later became popularly remembered as the “Battle Above the Clouds.”
Battle of Missionary Ridge
A separate account describes Grant’s forces, Sherman, Hooker, and the Union assault upon Missionary Ridge.
Andrews’ Raid / Great Locomotive Chase
A particularly desirable feature is the lengthy article:
“A Race for Life”
This is an extended retelling of the famous Great Locomotive Chase of 1862, also known as Andrews’ Raid.
The narrative follows the raiders as they:
- infiltrate Confederate territory
- seize the locomotive General
- travel northward
- damage railroad infrastructure
- cut telegraph lines
- attempt to burn bridges
- pass Kingston, Adairsville, Calhoun, and other locations
- are pursued by Confederate railroad men
- encounter the locomotive Texas
- are eventually overtaken and captured
The article also discusses the fate of the raiders, including imprisonment, executions, escapes, and later memorialization.
For collectors of Civil War railroadiana, Andrews Raiders material, or Great Locomotive Chase history, this is one of the most important sections of the booklet.
Lookout Mountain as a Health Resort
Another fascinating section is titled:
“Lookout Mountain as a Health Resort”
It includes actual temperature records from:
- July 1888
- August 1888
- September 1888
- November 1888
- December 1888
- January 1889
- February 1889
The text promotes Lookout Mountain as a therapeutic environment and reflects contemporary Victorian medical thinking about:
- tuberculosis / fever
- mountain air
- climate
- outdoor exercise
- sanatorium treatment
Physicians are quoted or referenced in support of the mountain’s supposed health benefits.
This makes the guide interesting not only for Chattanooga and Civil War collectors but also for collectors of medical history, health resorts, tuberculosis history, and Victorian tourism.
Maps & Illustrations
The booklet contains numerous period illustrations and maps, including:
- Map of Chattanooga and Vicinity
- Civil War battlefield locations
- Missionary Mountain
- railroad lines
- Lookout Point Hotel
- Incline and Narrow Gauge Railway routes
- hotel illustrations
- scenic mountain views
- locomotive / railroad imagery
- battlefield-related engravings
- decorative Victorian cuts
Period Advertisements
The publication is unusually rich in late-1880s Chattanooga advertising.
Visible advertisers include:
Hotels & Lodging
- Palace Hotel
- F. Voigt & Sons
- advertised as the only strictly first-class hotel in the city
- centrally located opposite the Union Depot
- Willard Hotel
- corner of 8th & Chestnut Streets
- managed by M. R. Ide and J. R. Mowry
- electric bells and electric lights
- $2 per day
- Lookout Point Hotel
- Lookout Mountain
- proprietor E. E. Post
- promoted as a summer and winter resort
- extensive historical views
- tourist and health-resort appeal
- Kennedy House
- references to the Read House, Stanton House, and other Chattanooga hotels
Civil War Relics
One of the best advertisements in the booklet is for:
G. S. Porter – War Relics
Offering:
The ad specifically promotes:
“Union & Confederate”
relics:
“From the Various Battle Fields of the Late War.”
It advertises single pieces and larger relic cabinets, making this an exceptional contemporary example of the commercialization of Civil War battlefield collecting shortly after the war.
Railroad & Transportation Advertising
- Queen & Crescent Route
- Chattanooga to Cincinnati
- connections to New Orleans and other major cities
- Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway
- Lookout Mountain Incline Railway
- Narrow Gauge Railway
- local street railway information
- excursion and tourist transportation
Jewelry
E. P. Durando & Co.
813 Market Street, Chattanooga
Advertised as retail and manufacturing jewelers, offering:
- silver-plated wares
- Howard watches
- Elgin watches
- Waltham watches
- Rockford watches
- Swiss watches
Includes elaborate engraved watch illustrations and a view of the store interior.
Banking & Finance
- City Savings Bank
- advertising capital, surplus and safe deposit facilities
Real Estate
- W. K. Burton & Co.
- general real estate brokers and loan agents
- Chattanooga property and investment opportunities
Drug Store
- Stacy Lord’s Drug Store
- Georgia Avenue and 8th Street
- illustrated interior advertisement
Other Businesses
Additional advertisers include:
- Tennessee Oil Co.
- W. C. Sharon
- Fritts & Weihl
- Sam Sevier
- M. M. Henderson & Co.
- Dorsey, Paine & Co.
- Great Southern Tea Co.
- Reed’s Transfer & Storage Co.
- Chattanooga merchants, grocers, insurers, furniture dealers, paint dealers and other local firms
Collector Appeal
This booklet crosses several strong collecting categories:
- Civil Ridge
- Lookout Mountain
- Great Locomotive Chase
- Andrews history
- Tennessee history
- battlefield tourism
- Civil War relic collecting
- hotel ephemera
- Victorian advertising
- resort history
- medical history
- early tourism
- maps
- local business history
It is particularly evocative because it dates from a period when Civil War veterans were still alive in large numbers and the Chattanooga battlefields were only beginning to become formal historic destinations.
Condition
Front cover is missing.
Rear advertising cover remains present.
Other condition issues include:
- old tape repairs
- heavy spine wear
- edge wear and chipping
- small tears
- toning
- scattered wear
- looseness from age and deteriorated binding
Despite the condition, the booklet retains a large amount of historically significant printed content, advertisements, maps, illustrations and Civil War material.
Please examine all photographs carefully as they form an important part of the condition description.
An outstanding piece of 1880s Chattanooga, Civil War battlefield, railroad and Lookout Mountain tourism ephemera, with especially appealing Great Locomotive Chase content and a remarkable contemporary advertisement for Union and Confederate battlefield relics.
