The mystery of the prisoner’s dream

By Jennifer Crutchfield

Photo courtesy of Chattanooga-Hamilton County Bicentennial Library

Chattanooga’s first park: Olympia Park, which featured gardens, buildings and a merry-go-round, was renamed Warner Park in honor of the man who first envisioned a city park system.

Joseph H. Warner was born in Gallatin, Tennessee but fell in love with Chattanooga at age 12, when he came here to finish his schooling. He would return to the Scenic City twice. The first time he was 20, and a desire to serve his country led him through the treacherous Tennessee mountains towards Chattanooga, the military headquarters of the Confederate Army. The second time he was 21—not much older, but with his courageous spirit and love for Chattanooga forged by more than a year in a prison far from home. This time he returned for good, making a fresh start in his adopted city and creating a legacy that continues to grow even today.

Dreams in a dark time

As a young teenager, Joseph Warner worked for his brother, James Cartwright Warner, at his hardware store. Joseph must have been enthralled as he watched his brother become mayor and work to forge yet another new industry during a time when Chattanooga already was booming. It was the mid 1800s, and Chattanooga was poised to become a manufacturing epicenter not only for its growing industry, but also for the railroad and river access that made the city a key distribution point in the region.

But by the time Joseph Warner came back to Chattanooga at age 20, the city was instead the epicenter of a war. Warner enlisted in the Confederate Army, fought in the Battle of Chickamauga, and was captured by Union forces in November 1863, during the Battle of Missionary Ridge.

This photograph, courtesy the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Bicentennial Library, depicts a sham battle staged at Olympia Park during WWI.

Cold and lonely, Warner was held first in the Union Depot and then was transferred to Rock Island, Ill., where he and his fellow prisoners of war suffered through starvation, disease and deprivation until the war’s end in 1865. Nostalgia for his adopted home no doubt carried him through those bleak days.

Though he was far from his friends, family and homeland, Warner’s spirit was not daunted by the hardships of prison, and his accounts of the experience are full of stories of people who recognized his worth and came to his aid, his kind spirit and sense of honor reflected in their care and generosity. Among them was a Union warden who gave Warner job after the war so he could make money to go home to the city he loved.

A new start

Joseph Warner returned to Chattanooga with a zeal and determination that ultimately changed the landscape of his city and the fortunes and quality of life of its people. Building on his brother’s reputation for integrity, Warner launched a new business distributing hardware supplies through the war-torn region, expanding to include interests in coal, iron and steel before venturing into banking and civil service.

Warner’s impact on Chattanooga and its business landscape was widespread. He organized the Chattanooga Street Railways Company, which would expand to create a public transportation system that continues to serve Chattanoogans today. When a banking collapse in the Panic of 1893 led to the closing of the Fourth National Bank of Chattanooga, Warner paid depositors with his own money, protecting his neighbors in a time when there wasn’t an FDIC to insure bank deposits. Warner and his descendents also pioneered the development of the region’s natural resources.

But the achievements that most pleased Joseph Warner were the civic projects that enabled his fellow citizens to enjoy their city. The months he spent as a prisoner could have hardened his heart. Instead, the man who would become known by the honorary title “Major Warner” was motivated by that time of deprivation to develop a system to provide recreation and relaxation to his neighbors. His years as Commissioner of Parks, Public Buildings and Utilities were known to have been his most rewarding professionally.

Lasting impact

Chattanooga’s first major park, Olympia Park, had buildings, gardens, concessions and amusements, including a merry-go-round. It was later renamed Warner Park in Joseph Warner’s honor.

Today, Chattanooga’s park system has expanded to include 16 recreation centers, 20 sports and leisure centers, and 30 unique parks that serve families across the city. It is easy to imagine that this system of “well-managed decent recreation and relaxation” may have been born in a prisoner of war camp, the dream of a soldier who longed to enjoy his adopted city as a free man.

Our city still reflects the many ways in which Joseph Warner worked to improve Chattanooga and the surrounding region. But what might please Warner most is how children’s eyes sparkle when they hear his name—because to them, “Warner” means a carousel, a new “sprayground,” and the amazing Chattanooga Zoo.