Late 1800s and Early 1900s Industry in Chattanooga

Late 1800s and Early 1900s Industry in Chattanooga. . , Chattanooga could claim success in all of its attempts to gain an industrial base and to expand river and rail transport, but in the late 1880's, questions of wharf ownership entangled the city in a protracted lawsuit, and endangered continued growth on the river. V.K. Stevenson owned the lion's share of the wharf, and felt entitled to collect wharfage fees from those boats which docked at his property. Local merchants felt that this discouraged river trade and pressed the city to establish the wharf as free and public. Unfortunately, an 1852 ordinance had relinquished all city claims to the land on the waterfront. The city's only option, other than buying the land outright, was to forbid the charging of wharfage to any boats that landed at the foot of Market, Broad or Chestnut Street. In effect, the city claimed that these streets, and their rights of way, ran directly into the river, and were public property. Stevenson then began the legal battle that would last longer than he did. When the suit was decided in favor of his estate, improvements were made to the property, which may be seen in the photograph inset at bottom right. A metal tramway stretched from a warehouse to the water's edge, and a conveyor belt that was three feet wide carried sacks of grain from the boats directly into a warehouse at Chestnut Street. Also, Stevenson's estate granted permission for a Belt Railroad to pass through the property. This spur line ran from the depot at Ninth and Market Streets, west toward the river, then followed near the banks of the river around the base of Cameron Hill and then east to Market Street. The Belt Railroad shuttled freight between the trains and the riverboats, and also carried goods made by riverfront industries to the railhead at the south end of town. , , One successful industry in Chattanooga used lumber from forests in East Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia. Floated down the Tennessee, the logs made their way to Chattanooga sawmills, where they were cut into usable lumber. After drying, the wood was sent to planing mills for finishing. One long-active riverfront company, Loomis and Hart, operated saw and planing mills, and manufactured wooden furniture. , , Other industries with sites on the waterfront were mills for corn and flour, a distillery, a pork packing plant, an ice company, a foundry for fabricating iron, and a brickyard which made bricks from the clay of the riverbank. , , One of the largest and most successful companies near the river was the Chattanooga Brewing Company, which occupied the entire block bounded by Broad, Chestnut, Second and Third Streets. This company was a successful employer in Chattanooga from the late 1880's until the pressures of Prohibition forced it out of business in 1918. In 1929 the site was bought by the Coca-Cola Bottling Company. Another victim of Prohibition was the White Oak Distillery, which produced its own whiskey but also served as a regional distributor for several other brands. , , The large photo at left is a view of Chattanooga from the Walnut Street Bridge. The large building and smokestack on the left is the Chattanooga Brewing Company. The bottom left inset shows the wharf at low water, with snow covering the banks and buildings of the river. The center inset shows the Avalon and the N.B. Forrest wharfed at the landing. The N.B. Forrest is on the right and has a horseman between its stacks, where the Avalon carries a star.