A Brief History of Chattanooga, Tennessee

The area around Chattanooga was first inhabited by Native Americans, over 10,000 years ago. The name "Chattanooga" is based on the Native American Muskogean word for rock, which could possibly refer to Lookout Mountain. The first Europeans were in the area in 1663, when the English established the colony of Carolina, which included all of Tennessee, and the French from the Mississippi Valley claimed the land at the same time. England gained control of the area in 1763. Native Americans occupied the area in 1776, when there was an attempted Cherokee resistance. In 1816, John Ross, the Cherokee tribal cheif, established Ross's Landing as a trading post. This ended in the forced relocation of the Native Americans in this area to Oklahoma in 1837-1838, part of the wide-spread relocation known as the "Trail of Tears".

Ross's Landing was changed to Chattanooga in 1838. Rail transportation began in the 1850's, which made Chattanooga easily connected to other cities. Chattanooga was an important battleground during the Civil War, when both Confederate and Union armies attempted to keep control of the important railway hub. Afterwards, Chattanooga began to develop as a major manufacturing center. Recently, Chattanooga has undergone a number of redevelopment plans.

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