1700
- Chatta-nuga
Muscogean words for rock or stone (cvto - chato)
and 'rising to a point'
1775
- Dragging Canoe moves to Chattanooga Creek
Cherokee Chief Atakullakulla
signs away large parcels of land in Tennessee, Kentucky, and North
Carolina in the Treaty of Sycamore Shoals.
His son, Dragging Canoe,
rejects the land sale and vows to keep and protect the land from
white encroachment by moving further south on the Tennessee River.
1816-1819
- USA acquisition of land from the Cherokee
Major Ridge,
John Ross, Path Killer, The Glass, Going Snake and the Browns, among
others, sign treaties giving away lands in Tennessee, Georgia and
Alabama.
1819 - reservation
of John Brown, Cherokee, on Moccasin Bend
Reserved for him as
he gave up his Cherokee national citizenship for US American citizenship,
later sold.
1838 - Removal
/ Racial Cleansing of Cherokee from their land
The Supreme Court,
in its review of the State of Georgia vs. Missionaries helping
the Cherokee, sides with the Cherokee, but President Andrew Jackson
refuses to enforce their findings; sends USA troops to Georgia,
South and North Carolina and Tennessee to help states "cleanse"
the land of the native Cherokee.
1864-81 -
Thieves of Time [also a PBS video title]
A collection of human
skulls of different races for use in phrenology: "A good deal
of caution is required in obtaining anything from the graves of
Indians, and will have to be managed very carefully to prevent
the Indians from finding out, as this might be offered as an excuse
for taking the warpath again, as soon as the grass is high enough
for the ponies." --Colonel George Otis, 1830-1881, curator of
the Army Medical Museum 1864-81, Washington DC.
1879 - federal
court ruled that an Indian was a person
1900-32 - Collecting/stealing Native culture
Warren K. Moorehead
- on rented boat, traveled the Tennessee River ca. 1900-1932,
collecting Native American artifacts for Phillips Academy, Andover
MA Col. James (F.?) Corn bought the land on Moccasin Bend b. 1884,
1988 (mayor, Cleveland city attorney).
1919? 1926?
- Looking Backward
Chattanooga City Commission
petitioned by the town of Lookout Mountain to buy the property
for recreational purposes; opposed by the Industrial Bureau of
the Chamber of Commerce.
1942 - Landmarks'
Peril Cited by Wilhoite. Desecrating Cameron Hill or Moccasin Bend
Called Irrecoverable Loss
L.J. Wilhoite, chairman
of the Electric Power Board, to "desecrate either Cameron Hill
or Moccasin Bend in the name of progress would "sacrifice something
we can never recover."
1949 - Committee
Votes 'Moccasin Park'
A bill authorizing
the transfer of 1,400 acres of land in the Moccasin Bend area
to the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park was
unanimously approved by the US House of Representatives' Committee
on Public Lands. "One of the oldest and largest of the national
historical areas."
1955 Veto
Cuts Out $100,000 Fund for New Park. Moccasin Bend Project 'Too
Costly'--$40,000 Lost by Historical Group. $1,500,000 is Slashed
[Tennessee] Governor
Clement vetoed a $100,000 appropriation to buy the Moccasin Bend
and $40,000 for the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Historical Commission
because the [state's] general fund could not stand these and "other
costly items."
1958? Long-Range
Bend Landscape Plan Would Exclude Plants, Add Lakes
A long-range plan
for landscaping the whole of controversial Moccasin Bend with
an array of artificial lakes, athletic facilities and gardens
has been added to the rapidly mounting list of proposals by Mrs.
Sim Perry Long, civic and social leader here. ... [would exclude
all industry, would include the proposed state mental facility,
and the proposed freeway across the bend.] Mrs. Long's proposed
park would contain two lakes, an azalea garden, hiking and bridle
trails, football and baseball playing fields, a horse show area
and possibly polo grounds, a band shell and state and a large
swimming pool and bath house.
1958? Planning
for the Bend
The Chattanooga Times
suggests that the value of the Bend be considered both for the
esthetic and the financial return to the city. ... the plan presented
by Mrs. Long tells us to consider what the Bend if beautified
according to this lovely design would mean in actual dollars and
cents in the tourist travel as well as in making Chattanooga a
synonym for beauty of scene throughout the world. ... We can afford
to go slow. If Moccasin Bend is left like it is for years, that
would not be a misfortune.
1959 - U.S.
Has No Plans on Moccasin Bend, Has Lost Interest in Idea of Acquiring
Area as Addition to Park
The National Park Service
has declined local overtures to acquire Moccasin Bend as an addition
to Chickamauga-Chattanooga National Military Park. ... because
the hospital and certain other installations on the Bend interfere
with a uniform park.
1960 - State
acquisition and development of Moccasin Bend
MB Mental Health Hospital,
city-owned golf course, radio antennae.
1963 - Construction
of Interstate 24
Removal of the southern
Moccasin Bend river bank [containing Native American bones and
artifacts] to widen the river for commercial tugboat traffic,
and spoil material deposits in the inner Bend area; construction
of pipe line and electrical line through Hampton Place.
1964 - Moccasin
Bend to be Searched for Indian Data
An archeological expedition
to salvage anything of historical and archeological significance
on the sole of Moccasin Bend will be coordinated with construction
of the interstate highway link across the river to Tiftonia.
1965 - Indians'
Homes on Bend for Thousands of Years
Evidence recovered
during scientific excavations conducted on the sole of Moccasin
Bend before it was dredged away in preparation for construction
work on an Interstate highway there shows "without a doubt that
Indians lived there over a span of several thousands of years."
This conclusion was drawn in a recently released report, "The
Archeological Investigation of Moccasin Bend, Hamilton County,
Tennessee" by J.B. Graham, Department of Anthropology, University
of Tennessee, Knoxville. [based on a] project which was conducted
from Jan. 27 through May 14, 1964.
1968 - U.S.
Grant for Land on Bend is Approved
The federal government
has approved a grant of $50,000 toward the purchase of the Fine
tract on Moccasin Bend. The Moccasin Bend Association has pledged
$25,000 toward a local matching sum for the $100,000 purchase
and the County Council and City Commission each has pledged $12,500.
With the purchase of the Fine tract all of Moccasin Bend from
the sewage-treatment plant southward will be publicly owned with
the exception of what is known as the former Hoodenpyle tract
adjacent to the treatment plant property.
But Sherman Paul,
president of the Moccasin Bend Association, pointed out that the
association's commitment stipulates that the association shall
have a voice, along with the city and county government, in how
the property is to be developed." ... "The purpose for which we
have raised our share of the money is park and recreation use
for all of the people in Hamilton County. Some of the things which
we have talked about include a museum, a park, a marina, a tourist
attraction."
1975 - University
Team Digs for Indian Relics on Bend
A short while ago,
the Genoco Oil Heat Co. on Pineville Road, adjacent to the Tennessee
River, called the UTC department of anthropology. Frank Smith,
terminal manger of the company, had been supervising the digging
of a drainage ditch around some of the holding tanks on the grounds.
The diggers unexpectedly cut into Indian graves. ...
"The entire area about Moccasin Bend should be on the National
Register of Historic Places," said [Dr. Jeff] Brown [assistant
professor of anthropology at UTC], who added there are hundreds
of sites of Indian life in the community.
1982 - Panel
Begins Local-Citizen Interviews over Bend Tract
A Blue Ribbon Institute
Panel began interviewing over 100 Chattanooga business executives,
government officials and other citizens this morning about future
use of approximately 600 acres of land on Moccasin Bend. The panel,
funded by the Lyndhurst Foundation and sent by the Urban Land
Institute, was assigned to evaluate and make recommendations for
the best land use strategies for the ultimate and interim use
of the land, which is owned by both the city and county.
1982 - Zoo,
Tourist Park are Recommended for Moccasin Bend
Moccasin Bend should
be the site of a multifaceted tourist park anchored by a zoo and
offering such attractions as a recreated Indian village, outdoor
amphitheater and a marina from which steamboats would sail to
Ross' Landing and Reflection Riding.
This was the central recommendation from a distinguished panel
of professional developers from around the country, members of
the Urban Land Institute who spent five days here evaluating the
best use of about 600 acres of undeveloped land on the Bend, which
is owned by city and county governments.
In a Friday morning
presentation of the panel's findings, it was also recommended
that the Stringer's Ridge property be preserved as a public park
with hiking trails and bridle paths. The Moccasin Bend Golf Course
should be upgraded ... there should be no residential or heavy
industrial development.
Recommending its development
with a tourist and public use orientation, said panel member Christopher
Leinberger of Beverly Hills, California, "goes against the grain
of most of us on the panel
The group as a whole
works primarily in the private sector ... Our predisposition,
quite honestly, was to develop it industrially."
Leinberger went on to say, "It is crucial that Chattanooga put
tourism in its proper place and unify the entire community around
that concept." ... "The zoo would act as an anchor for a mixed-use
tourist-oriented development," Leinberger said. This could give
Chattanooga the "critical mass" it needs to become a destination
point for tourists. "Chattanooga needs to view itself as a comprehensive
theme park, rather than a random collection of attractions," he
said. "As such, those attractions must be integrated, coordinated,
graphically tied together and properly packaged so as to attract
a vacationer looking for more than just a one-day experience."
An outdoor amphitheater,
perhaps in the Stringer's Ridge area, could accommodate a Chattanooga
pageant similar to "Unto These Hills" in Cherokee, N.C., as well
as outdoor concerts and other theatrical events, he said. ...
Indian history on Moccasin Bend is rich, and Leinberger said a
"logical attraction" would be an historical Indian village and
museum with guided tours of excavated archeological sites.
1982 - Cherokees
Considering Moccasin Bend Plans
Authentic Indian Village Proposed. (Times)
Cherokee Indians Concerned about Development of Bend (NFP)
Protection of ancestral
burial grounds would be the biggest concern of the Cherokee Indians
if the Cherokees elected to become involved in projects to develop
Moccasin Bend, Arnold Wachacha, a Cherokee, said in Chattanooga
on Wednesday.
"We don't want our ancestors dug up," Wachacha said. "They had
reasons for burying them there." The Cherokees may have had a
worship area on the bend, he said.
Wachacha and Frank
Teesateskie, both residents of Cherokee, N.C., were in Chattanooga
to learn more about the Moccasin Bend area and plans for its development.
Almost all proposals for developing the bend include an authentic
Indian village, said Sue Worley, who has drawn up two proposals
for use of Moccasin Bend. ... "We are rich in Cherokee history
here, particularly on Moccasin Bend," Mrs. Worley [assistant director
of the Private Industry Council] said. And she feels any development
of the bend would have to include the Cherokees.
Four area groups, the
Chattanooga Jaycees, the Zoological Society, the Alternative Energy
Group and the Moccasin Bend Heritage Association have joined to
promote the best possible development of Moccasin Bend, Mrs. Worley
said. The umbrella organization is termed the Moccasin Bend Heritage
Association.
1982 - Legendary
Indian Town of Chiaha May have Stood on Moccasin Bend
For years archeologists
have tried to discover the location of a large American Indian
town--probably the center of the province of Chiaha--mentioned
by early Spanish explorers traveling through southeastern North
America.
Now there is evidence
that town may have been located on Moccasin Bend, and that artifacts
discovered there could provide significant historical information
regarding little-known expeditions by Spanish conquistadors and
other explorers.
But that information
may be destroyed unless a comprehensive assessment is available
in time to be used by officials planning the construction of a
zoo or other facilities on Moccasin Bend, the Chattanooga Regional
Anthropological Association said. ...
"Potential developers view our activities as a deterrent to development,"
said CRAA president S.H. Chu, "but all we want is to get any historical
data out of (Moccasin Bend) before it is disturbed."
1982 - Archeologists
Begin Digging, Call Bend Site a Major Find
Ten archeologists who
spent the weekend excavating a 400-year-old American Indian dwelling
on Moccasin Bend confirmed Sunday the peninsula is a significant
historical find.
CRAA President S.H.
Chu and archeologists agreed the study need not delay potential
development of the peninsula, which has been proposed as the site
of a zoo and other projects. They said if the money to pay for
it were available, the assessment could be completed by spring.
1983 - Moccasin
Bend Panel to Meet Archeologists
Moccasin Bend Task
Force members said Thursday they hope to meet later this month
with archeologists studying the historical significance of the
Bend in order to coordinate that group's activities with task
force needs.
1983 - Area
Archeologists Begin Dig in Moccasin Bend Area
'Chattanooga is beginning
to take advantage of the deep history and pre-history we're blessed
with.'
Dr. Major McCullough
describes Chattanooga's Moccasin Bend land area as a "fabulous
microcosm of our local heritage containing some real jewels of
Chattanooga's history and pre-history."
"The importance of
finds along Moccasin Bend has been known for years. There have
repeated attempts to halt vandalism in the area. There has also
been much talk regarding developing the area; some are ready to
destroy what's there. I took it as my professional responsibility
to find what its value is and what its best uses would be."
Previously neglected,
the area has suffered extensive damage. "We have mapped the damage.
There are between 1100 and 1200 pits from uncontrolled digging.
In the past experts have said this causes loss of scientific value.
I don't believe this. This area is not tarnished; there is so
much here."
1983 - Tourist
Attraction Needed, Says Member of Bend Task Force
Jack McDonald, representing
the five-member Moccasin Bend Task Force, told members of the
City Commission that the 600-acre tract jointly owned on the Bend
by the city and county offers the opportunity for "a real biggy"
of a tourist attraction to spur the economy and boost the city's
image. He said the Task Force is looking for the type of attraction
that will encourage families to come to Chattanooga for a stay
of at least a day or two, making the city a place for visitors
to go "to" rather than "through."
The objective now,
he said, is for the major attraction that generate tourist dollars.
He said the area already has many pluses: the river, history (Civil
War and Indian), "great scenery."
1983 - Sierra
Club digging for source of rumors attacking Bend work
The Moccasin Bend
Task Force and the Sierra Club have joined forces to "get to the
bottom of" rumors which could escalate and slow development of
the bend, Sierra Club president Jim Desrosiers said Wednesday.
He emphasized the environmental group is "not trying to say how
Moccasin Bend should be used." So long as the bend is not messed
up environmentally, he said, his group will not take sides in
whether the peninsula should become "a zoo or a golf course or
whatever."
Some of the rumors,
he said, claim the archeological work done to date on the bend
has been inept. Others charge that TVA is deeply involved in development
on the bend, that the task force plans to use chemical herbicides
to kill locust trees and brush on the peninsula, and that the
task force has held secret meetings after telling the public no
meeting was planned.
1995 - Friends
of Moccasin Bend National Park Formed
- collected
& edited by tpkunesh
|
