President "Teddy" Roosevelt's Visit to Chattanooga and Chickamauga Park
President Theodore Roosevelt visited Chattanooga on September 7-8, 1902. It was a fast-paced couple of days with little rest for his entourage. The president was known for his tremendous physical abilities, endurance, and ability to outwalk both his staff and reporters.
Local lore has it that the president visited Fort Oglethorpe to "check on the post's construction." The truth, however, was that the construction of the buildings of the "post at Cloud Springs" had not even begun at the time of his visit.​
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According to the Chattanooga News, September 6, 1902, those close to the president said that the primary purpose of his visit to Chattanooga was to attend the great meeting of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen.
President Teddy Roosevelt shakes hands with Lt. Col. Edgerly, 7th Cavalry Regiment at Camp Thomas. Photo courtesy of the Theodore Roosevelt Center, Dickson State University.
In the same newspaper describing the president's local trip, there is an article providing an update on the post construction, with General Boynton stating that the request for bids from contractors has not yet been posted (see the Chattanooga Daily Times, September 7, 1902, pg. 4​). In other words, a general contractor had not yet been selected.
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​Newspaper coverage of his visit was carried by both of Chattanooga's papers. They each carried the planned itinerary (September 6, Chattanooga News, and September 7, Chattanooga Daily Times), then followed by the president's actual itinerary (September 8, both Chattanooga Daily Times and Chattanooga News). In both of the planned itinerary articles, the agenda does mention that the president will visit the site where the post is to be located, but neither of the actual itinerary articles mention anything about visiting the post's proposed location.
It's possible that, as the presidential party returned to Chattanooga, they quickly passed by the ground where the fort would be built and did not alight from their carriages, which made it unremarkable for the reporters to record the stop. After all, the fort is only one block west of the Lafayette Road, so it would not have been a big deviation from the route to Chattanooga. It's also possible that, despite the planned itinerary, the entourage was running behind schedule in getting back to Chattanooga and never stopped. Either way, there were no hammers, saws, or workmen building any buildings when President Roosevelt visited the area. At most, he might have seen some cleared land and surveyor's stakes marking where buildings were to be located.
A Condensed Itinerary of the President's Visit
Stereograph photos of the president and his entourage standing on the wall surrounding the Hamilton County Courthouse at 7th and Georgia Ave, probably after they returned from Chickamauga Park. These two shots show both the president's serious side and his humorous side. Photos courtesy of the Theodore Roosevelt Center, Dickson State University.
Stereograph photo of the president (left) and his entourage standing on the brow of Lookout Mountain. Photo courtesy of the Theodore Roosevelt Center, Dickson State University.
​His entourage departed by electric trolley cars from Chattanooga to visit the Chickamauga Battlefield.
Upon arrival at the Park, President Roosevelt and his party were outfitted with horses for the tour.
In the Battlefield, he visited Camp Thomas, a US Army training camp established in 1898 during the Spanish-American War.
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The president reviewed the troops stationed there, specifically the 7th Cavalry Regiment and the 3rd Field Artillery Battery.
The famous 7th Cavalry Regiment was Custer's regiment. They would become the first unit to occupy the soon-to-be-built barracks at Fort Oglethorpe.
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After the tour and troop review, the president's party returned to Chattanooga by horse carriages via the Crest Road along the top of Missionary Ridge and to the Orchard Knob Reservation, all components of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park.
From there they returned to the city.
That afternoon the president and his party took the Incline Railway to the top of Lookout Mountain. There were carriages waiting at the top to take the president to Point Park, but the president chose to walk the short distance.
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A formal, full course dinner was awaiting the president at the Lookout Inn (since burned down) but the president chose instead to dine privately in a room.
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That evening, back in the city, the president attended a church service at the First Baptist Church.
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President Roosevelt spent the night of Sept 7, 1902, at the Read House in room 46.
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The next morning Roosevelt was escorted on foot to an auditorium a few blocks away, led by a mounted patrol of the Chattanooga Police.
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There he attended the executive committee meeting of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen, in which he was given honorary membership. Roosevelt was a huge supporter of organized labor. Read his speech here.
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The route to the auditorium was jam packed on both sides of the street by Chattanoogans who cheered wildly for the president.
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After the Brotherhood's executive meeting, the auditorium was opened up to the public where Roosevelt delivered a speech to the public.
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Roosevelt departed for Knoxville.
Stereograph photo of the president in the auditorium to address the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen, shaking hands with Grand Master Frank P. Sargent, the Commissioner General of Immigration. Photo courtesy of the Theodore Roosevelt Center, Dickson State University.
Resources to Learn More about President Roosevelt's Life
Theodore Roosevelt and the National Park Service
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While Roosevelt did not create the idea of national parks, he was the most prolific in signing legislation to protect our treasured lands for generations to come. Our country's first national park was Yellowstone National Park, signed into law by President Ulysess S. Grant in 1872. Teddy Roosevelt was 13 years old at the time.
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Theodore Roosevelt and Conservation
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Roosevelt was a proponent of utilizing our country's vast resources, but he wanted to ensure that they were being used in a sustainable manner. He was responsible for protecting 230 million acres, most of which are now national forests. Roosevelt created the US Forest Service in 1905.
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Theodore Roosevelt Center at Dickson State University
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The Center has undertaken the monumental task of creating a presidential digital library that will serve as a repository for all Roosevelt-related documents, photographs, and ephemera, providing instant access via the internet in a well-organized, comprehensible manner.
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Theodore Roosevelt Collection at Harvard Library
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This collection includes correspondence, original manuscripts, diaries, speeches, and photographs. It's a comprehensive resource for anyone interested in Roosevelt's personal and professional life.
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Library of Congress - Theodore Roosevelt Papers
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This digital collection contains approximately 276,000 documents, including personal, family, and official correspondence, diaries, book drafts, articles, speeches, and scrapbooks. It's the largest collection of original Roosevelt documents in the world.​​​​
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Sagamore Hill National Historic Site
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President Theodore Roosevelt's home from 1885 to his death in 1919. Known as his "Summer White House."
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