A Moment in History: The Fireman's Fountain, Chattanooga, Tennessee

Monday through Friday I travel 20 or so miles south to downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee. This is one of the sites that is now very familiar to me:  



The Fireman's Fountain is located in a teeny, tiny little city park at the intersection of Lookout St., Sixth St., and Georgia Avenue. The fountain is a memorial to Chattanooga city firefighters Henry Iler and W.M. Peak who perished in the line of duty on June 9, 1887.  It was commissioned and installed in 1888. The tiny park changes with each season. Flowers bloom in the spring and continue through the summer, the flowers fade in the fall and if the temperature drops in the winter months, those of us who pass this fountain on our way to and from work can't help but gaze at the beauty of the frozen fountain.

I am all about some history, so I went looking for old photographs of the tiny little park and the Fireman's Fountain. This was the first photo that caught my eye:  

I am guessing this picture is from the early 1900s. Or 19teens.

Sadly, the ornate buildings to the left of the tiny park no longer exist.  They were torn down for an ugly parking lot.  I have walked through that parking lot many times, wondering what rooms I would be walking through if the buildings still existed. See the tall spire on the left? Still there!!!! I can see it from my office building. And that's all that's left of it; just a spire. There's no longer a building connected to it and the cross no longer sits atop of it. Someone always puts two green Christmas wreaths with red bows on the doors during Christmastime. 

I noticed the pretty curved fence around the tiny park as I was examing the photo. As you can see in the top picture, it is no longer there. What a shame! I also noticed the sign on the gate; a warning!

DANGEROUS

KEEP OUT 

Hmmmm....what could be so dangerous in a tiny little park in downtown Chattanooga Tennessee in the 1900s or 19teens?

I forwarded to the next picture.

 

Those are alligators!!!!!!

 Alligators are not native to Southeast Tennessee! And,

ALLIGATORS ARE DANGEROUS.

This is a mystery to me, dear readers. I am fairly certain these are real alligators. If not, why the warning

DANGEROUS

KEEP OUT  

Before the Nature Center, before Chattanooga's awesome Tennessee Aquarium, before the Chattanooga Zoo...

there were two alligators that spent their days lounging and sunning in a teeny, tiny park in downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee.

If you know more about these alligators, please, please reply. Were they real? (I hope so. This is exactly the kind of quirkiness that appeals to me.) Did they have names? What happened to them during the cold winter months? How long did they live in the tiny park? Did anyone defiantly ignore the warning sign on the gate and enter the park? Who fed them? Did they swim in the 'cement pond'

 underneath the fountain?  

But mostly, I want to know....

Whose idea was this anyway?????????????????????????

Thanks for reading my blog!!!!

Shelia

UPDATE!!!!

I have an answer to the Alligators in the Tiny City Park! My friend and co-worker Pete Burnette, who is also a history buff,  provided the answer and here it is:

"There was a sense of flair for exhibitionism, to have alligators in the fence.  However there 'was' a purpose.  Two fold in fact.  One, to keep birds away from the fountain.  Birds like to drink, but they also like to poop. The city is continually cutting trees downtown, placing wire and other deterrents on the roofs of buildings, along with privately owned buildings as well, to run away birds.  Appalachian birds may have never seen an alligator till they hovered over the fireman's fountain,  their instinct told them not to even THINK about getting close to them, much less landing in their turf!

Another purpose, was to keep dogs from pooping and bums from lounging around the fountain.  Remember, at that time, things were much more sacred than now.  That fireman's fountain was placed there by a community torn with grief from the loss of those firemen!  They wanted that fountain protected .... from everything, including nature!

Yes it was a humorous draw.  Especially when you consider ducks were cheaper.  The curious thing was that after the public fed the 'gators popcorn, the alligators would quack!"
Pete Burnett

I found the sentence about how the community was grieving to be so poignant. I think most of us who live and work here know the history behind it, but we just think of it as a pretty spot in a city of concrete, office buildings, tourist attractions and restaurants, but over a century ago ago, citizens were grieving over the deaths of two firemen. I'll never look at it in the same way again.

Thanks for the answer Pete!

~S~



Then and Now, Graham Road

My family has lived in East Tennessee many years. In fact, except for the first couple years of marriage, I have lived on the same road all my life. It's old family property that was given to my maternal great-grandparents, George and Ida Graham, by the McDonald family.

George (Pappy) and Ida (Mommie) had seven children. Ethel, Alice, Lester, Trewhitt, Ruth, Georgia and Granville. Granville worked for the Home Stores, a chain of small markets owned by the McDonald family. He was killed in a work-related accident on December 23, 1933 and Mr. McDonald gave Pappy sixty two acres as a death settlement. Granville was a young man of 25 years and his death hurt his family very much.

My great-grandmother, Ida Emerling Graham standing in front of her home on Graham Road.  

Now the road I live on is called Graham Road, named after my great-grandparents, but over seventy-five years ago, there was just a little wagon trail meandering through the sixty-two acres. No houses, no electric lines, no city water.  Pappy divided sixty acres between his remaining six children and kept two acres for himself.  There was a tiny little house on his two acres and he and Mommie lived there until he built their house. 

Ida Emerling Graham

These pictures were taken sometime in the early 1950s. Pappy died when I was just a baby, so I have no memories of him, but I do have memories of visiting Mommie. I remember Pappy's garden spot and the well, with its windlass, bucket, dipper and fresh cold water.  Behind their home was a grapevine, an outbuilding, and behind the outbuilding was the outhouse. I have about a 5 second memory of staying with Mommie. She was babysitting me and I remember standing on a short stool in her kitchen, watching her throw a piece of wood in her cookstove. After she threw it in she put her arms around me and gently got me off the stool.

George Graham in front of the house he built on Graham Road. The little dirt road that runs alongside the house went to his neighbor's, Lorenzo Newman.

Eventually, all but one of George and Ida's children sold their land. Their youngest daughter, Ruth Graham Burchard, my Mamaw, lived on Graham Road until she went to Heaven six months after my Papaw, in 1985.  The ten acres given to my grandmother was increased as surrounding property became available and now Ruth's daughters, and a few grandchildren and great-grandchildren, live on Graham Road.

Graham Road was a quiet little country road when I was growing up. Hardly any cars passed our house and when one did, we ran to the front window to see who it was! We fell asleep at night listening to the call of whipporwills and awakened to the sound of Bessie, my grandparent's milk cow, mooing in the pasture between our homes.   My brothers and I would play all day, stopping only to drink a glass of KoolAid, or to sit on the porch and read or daydream. I can remember Momma telling us to be quiet, not to holler or talk loud,  when a funeral was taking place in the cemetary nearby.  

Until the early 1980s, Graham Road began at Back Valley Road at it's west end and ended about four miles to the east at State Highway 27. I can remember at least a dozen or more homes scattered on the four miles of curves, steep hills and dark hollows.  Graham Road had grown from a short, rough wagon trail to a four-mile paved road in less than 50 years.  

My great-grandmother Ida finally came to live with her youngest daughter Ruth, my Mamaw. Her old home was sold and my Daddy's brother, my Uncle Buddy,  lived there with his family for a few years.  Again, Pappy's garden spot flourished and the little old house was filled with family and laughter.  

It is said that you can't stop progress. Progress came to Graham Road in the early 1980s in the form of State Highway 111. 

 My great-grandparents property was purchased by the State of Tennessee.  Their homeplace....home, garden spot, outbuilding, outhouse and grapevine.... was torn down, covered with earth and rock, and eventually asphalt.  Thousands of cars and trucks have traveled this road since it was opened over 25 years ago.

 I took these pictures standing on the off ramp of Highway 111, where my great-grandparent's house, garden spot, outbuilding, outhouse and grapevine used to be.   

Same place, different time.

Graham Road was rerouted during the construction of Highway 111. No longer does it lead from Back Valley Road to Highway 27. It's only a little over a mile long now. 

There have been a lot of changes in the past 78 years. Looking at these pictures, it's hard to believe it's the same place. I miss the quietness of the old Graham Road. The whipporwills left a long time ago and now if we ran to the front window every time a car passed, we'd be running to the window all day. Who would have ever thought that a mile long road, that ends at a deadend, would be so busy? 

I have chosen a few more pictures from my Momma's picture box that I'll be posting in the next few weeks. I hope to do more Then and Now pictures, so I hope you'll come back to visit with me.    

Shelia  

 

A Visit to a Farm in Gruetli-Laager, Tennessee

Chuck, my Sweet Little Momma, our grandchildren and I visited a farm in Gruetli-Laager today.

The small town of Gruetli-Laager is located on the southern portion of the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee.  

It was founded in 1869 by Swiss immigrants who established a farming community. You can read more about Gruetli-Laager here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gruetli-Laager,_Tennessee

One hundred Swiss families purchased farmland, sight unseen. When they arrived they found the land was still in timber. No fields. No outbuildings. No money. Their first crop of hay was cut with kitchen knives because they had no money for tools. 

 You can read more about the Swiss immigrants here:

http://www.swisshistoricalsociety.org/Celebration.htm

There are two original Swiss farms remaining in Gruetli-Laager and one of them belongs to my Uncle George and Aunt Martha. 

Snow from last week's snowfall covered the roads and pastures at the farm.

The outbuildings at the farm are the original outbuildings. They are over 125 years old. 

 LuLu the donkey loves my Aunt Martha. So does Arnold the dog. My Aunt Martha has a soft heart for animals.

My Uncle George carries round bales of hay to the pasture for the cows.

 The welcoming committee greeted us as soon as we arrived.

This is an outbuilding my grandchildren were totally unfamiliar with. Raise your hand if you know what it is.

The barns, corncrib and wellhouse are a soft, weathered gray. 

Ahhhh, how lovely she is. 

Cows always like to have their picture taken. This one is particularly photogenic.

 My granddaughter fed LuLu the donkey a handful of crackers.

And so did my Grandson.

 LuLu wanted a closeup. I couldn't refuse her.

 

 The cows demonstrated how they walk around in the pasture.

And did I mention Arnold, the Farm Dog, is going to have puppies? 

 Hub stands outside the Farmhouse.....

...while my Sweet Little Momma warms inside.

Our last stop was the hog pen.

They were really busy and didn't take time to watch us leave.

We enjoyed our visit to the old Swiss farm on this cold January day in Appalachia.