The homestead of the dead

By Jennifer Crutchfield

Photos by Andy Montgomery

Photo by Andy Montgomery

Forest Hills Cemetery sits at the base of Lookout Mountain, the beginning of the fertile Chattanooga valley. Founded 130 years ago, this “homestead” of the dead has been the resting place of some of Chattanooga’s most famous citizens, their shadows heavy over monuments that tell the story of the Scenic City.

Once each spring, the “dead” stroll Forest Hills’ lush green lawns, and azaleas and dogwoods decorate a day that is alive with history. This year, from noon to 5 p.m. on April 24, today’s Chattanoogans will don the personas of the men and women who shaped much of the future of the city they all called home.

Hundred-acre homage

Southern cities and their families celebrate the resting place of their ancestors in a way that is a unique blend of many cultural traditions. In the South, cemeteries are places where families might have picnics, taking flowers to their deceased grandmother on her birthday, or playing Frisbee to commemorate her neighboring husband on Grandparent’s Day. For Southern families, these settings aren’t just places for mourning; often they are sites for reflective celebrations and an excuse for elders to share teachings from the lives of those who came before.

At Forest Hills, familial love and community pride are an art form, set in the stone, marble and statuary of a hundred-acre homage to the people who carved a thriving city out of a wilderness trading post.

Col. Abraham Malone Johnson established this pastoral resting place as he was developing an area he called St. Elmo, named in homage to a novel that glorified Chattanooga’s bravery during the Civil War. That place is now home to more than 47,000 souls, and the massive oak trees that tower above the cemetery grounds have been protective sentries, growing taller and wider with the flock they’ve guarded since 1880.

During its early years, the city of Chattanooga fell victim to diseases like cholera and consumption, and their ravages are recorded in the tombstones and monuments of Forest Hills. There the names of forgotten children from the Vine Street orphanage can be found alongside the names of famous Civil War officers, renowned entertainers, and the business leaders and families who turned their sleepy town into a bustling, turn-of-the-century city.

Where the city’s past sleeps

Col. A.M. Johnson was married to the daughter of the one of the first developers of Chattanooga, Col. James Whiteside. Following in the entrepreneurial spirit of his father-in-law, Johnson built one of the early turnpikes up Lookout Mountain. Both men were eventually laid to rest in the shadow of the mountain.

Also buried there is Harriet Whiteside, James’s wife, an iconic female figure in Chattanooga’s history. After the Civil War she paid the taxes on her home atop Lookout Mountain by charging a 25-cent entry fee for that famous, scenic view—a toll enforced by shotgun wielding men.

By Johnson’s death in 1903, Chattanooga was a booming hub of the South, attracting many men who brought their families, businesses and entrepreneurial spirit to the Scenic City, and whose tombs can be found at Forest Hill.

The cemetery is home to Garnet Carter, Rock City’s founder and the inventor of miniature golf; Joe Engel, “the Barnum of Baseball” and Engel Stadium namesake; actress and opera singer Grace Moore, the “Tennessee Nightingale”; baseball phenom Jackie Gilbert, the girl who struck out Babe Ruth; Joseph Cadek, founder of the Cadek Conservatory of Music; four US senators, six congressmen, and other amazing Chattanoogans.

Visiting Forest Hills

One day a year, the serene beauty of the Forest Hills Cemetery is the backdrop to a montage of live performances as actors and descendants celebrate some of the personages buried there. In costume and character, these dedicated enthusiasts take guests back in time, drawing them into the lives of people who on other days are just names etched onto Gothic or Victoria monuments decorated with Biblical figures or ancient gods.

Pack a picnic—or just an appetite for history—and visit Forest Hills Cemetery with your family. If you can’t make it on April 24 to enjoy the breathing reincarnations of our city’s lively spirits, download the cemetery’s brochure at ForestHillsCemetery.net. (Click on News & Events, and then scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the scroll brochure.) Then take your own family on the tour, learning together as you enjoy a beautiful day with pretty flowers, interesting scenes, and history that can come alive before your eyes.