History · Chattanooga
A history of Chattanooga,
since 1839
Postcards, papers and photographs of Chattanooga from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
1839established
10old images & papers
89historic places
0recent photos
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗The first inhabitants of the Chattanooga area were Native Americans. Sites dating back to the Upper Paleolithic period (c. 10,000 BCE) show continuous human occupation through the Archaic, Woodland, Mississippian/Muskogean/Yuchi (900–1714 CE), and Cherokee (1776–1838) periods. The Chickamauga Mound near the mouth of the Chickamauga Creek is the oldest (c. 750 CE) remaining visible art in Chattanooga.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items below1839Established
1815Untitled photoDocument
1856Alabama and Chattanooga Railroad, plat mapMap
1860s8 items · Tallulah Lake, Chattanooga, Lookout M…Commons
Help out
Finish Chattanooga’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewTallulah Lake, Chattanooga, Looko…, c. 1860: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Chattanooga
See all 62 →
By decade
Chattanooga, decade by decade
1810s1 paper
1860s8 items
CommonsTallulah Lake, Chattanooga, Lookout Mountainc. 1860
CommonsView of Chattanooga & Lookout Mountain, Tennc. 1860
CommonsView ofc. 1860
CommonsNashville and Chattanooga Railroad tracks at the foot of Lo…1861
LOCChattanooga, Tennessee1861
LOCNational Cemetery1861
LOCFort Sherman1861![Sutter's [i.e. Sutler's] Row](https://images.towntapestry.org/story/16509/c4e3b76130c81190e61d-s.jpg)
LOCSutter's [i.e. Sutler's] Row1861National Register of Historic Places
89 historic places in Chattanooga
Chattanooga has 89 listings on the National Register, and they protect 1,392 historic buildings, because St. Elmo Historic District alone counts 611.
#4
Among Tennessee’s most-listed townsby listings · the typical town has 1
89places listed60 buildings · 17 districts · 12 other
0National Historic LandmarksNone here yet
1,392historic buildings protectedcounting each building in a district
1971first listedBrown's Ferry Tavern · newest: St. Marks United Methodist Church, 2026
Where they are
Tap a dot for a photo and link. Districts show at their center.
BuildingsDistrictsSitesStructures
When they were listed
The Register began in 1966. Chattanooga’s busiest decade was the 1980s.
60s
2470s
3380s
1390s
400s
710s
820s
Listed 1971Brown's Ferry TavernListed 1973Terminal StationListed 1973Old Library BuildingListed 1973Brabson House (Additional Documentation)Listed 1973Tivoli Theater (Additional Documentation)Listed 1973Old Post Office (Additional Documentation)Listed 1973Lookout Mountain Incline RailwayListed 1974Ross's LandingListed 1976Civil War FortificationListed 1976Read House (Additional Documentation)Listed 1978Chattanooga, Harrison, Georgetown & Charleston Railroad TunnelListed 1978St. Paul's Episcopal ChurchListed 1978Ochs BuildingListed 1978Hamilton County CourthouseListed 1978Hutcheson HouseListed 1979Shiloh Baptist ChurchListed 1979Fountain SquareListed 1979Mikado Locomotive No. 4501Listed 1979Fort Wood Historic DistrictListed 1979Chattanooga Car BarnsListed 1979Wiley United Methodist ChurchListed 1979Brainerd Mission CemeteryListed 1979Gaskill HouseListed 1979Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church and BuildingsListed 1980Chattanooga Electric RailwayListed 1980First Baptist Church Education BuildingListed 1980Frances Willard HouseListed 1980Highland Park Methodist Episcopal churchListed 1980James BuildingListed 1980Municipal BuildingListed 1980Second Presbyterian ChurchListed 1980U.S. Post OfficeListed 1980Ferger Place Historic DistrictListed 1980Market Square-Patten ParkwayListed 1980Kelley HouseListed 1980Judge Will Cummings HouseListed 1980Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum Rolling StockListed 1980Bonny OaksListed 1980Brainerd Junior HighListed 1980Chattanooga Bank BuildingListed 1980Medical Arts BuildingListed 1980Northside United PresbyterianListed 1980Soldiers and Sailors Memorial AuditoriumListed 1980Faxon-Thomas MansionListed 1982Caleb Isbester HouseListed 1982St. Elmo Historic DistrictListed 1983Southern Railway Freight DepotListed 1983Crane BuildingListed 1984King, M. L., Boulevard Historic DistrictListed 1984Market Street Warehouse Historic DistrictListed 1984Schwartz, Robert, and Company BuildingListed 1985Maclellan BuildingListed 1985Lookout Mountain Caverns and Cavern CastleListed 1986Trigg-Smartt Building (Additional Documentation)Listed 1986Wyatt HallListed 1987Miller Brothers Department StoreListed 1989Glenwood Historic DistrictListed 1990Walnut Street BridgeListed 1990Cravens-Coleman HouseListed 1992Chancellor T. M. McConnell HouseListed 1992Turnbull Cone and Machine CompanyListed 1992Market and Main Streets Historic DistrictListed 1993Seamour and Gerte Shavin HouseListed 1993Model Electric HomeListed 1995Central Block BuildingListed 1996Missionary Ridge Historic DistrictListed 1996Chattanooga National CemeteryListed 1999Signal Knitting MillsListed 1999Stone Fort Land Company Historic DistrictListed 1999Chattanooga Plow Power HouseListed 2001Wauhatchie PikeListed 2009First Presbyterian ChurchListed 2009Engel StadiumListed 2009Jones, Clarence T., ObservatoryListed 2010First Congregational ChurchListed 2010Ridgedale Methodist Episcopal ChurchListed 2010Market Street BridgeListed 2011Oak Grove Elementary School (Additional Documentation)Listed 2012Highland Park Methodist Episcopal Church, SouthListed 2014Standard-Coosa-Thatcher MillsListed 2017Chickamauga Hydroelectric ProjectListed 2020Dixie Mercerizing CompanyListed 2020Downtown Chattanooga Historic DistrictListed 2021Christ Church EpiscopalListed 2021Price-Evans FoundryListed 2021Beck Knob CemeteryListed 2022Ridgedale LodgeListed 2025Pleasant Garden CemeteryListed 2026St. Marks United Methodist Church
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places (05/22/2026) · styles from the National Archives catalog · photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Tallulah Lake, Chattanooga, Lookout Mountain (c. 1860) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (6), the Library of Congress (4) and the National Register (2). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.