An infant girl was named Thankful because she was born while her family crossed an ocean toward a new life in the colonies.  Her daughter and her grandson’s daughter would be Thankful also as Colonel James A. Whiteside settled in the Chattanooga Valley and became a pioneer developer, changing the landscape of Lookout Mountain and the valley we know as St. Elmo.

That same land had been called the ‘Dark and Bloody Ground’ by the Cherokee, part of their legendary hunting grounds.  Chief Dragging Canoe and the Beloved Woman, Nancy Ward were children together and saw the Cherokee land dwindle with treaties between English, French and finally, American governments.

Chief Dragging Canoe parted from the tribe in 1776, taking his warriors and a new name, the Chickamauga, to settle in the Chattanooga Valley.  They settled along the Tennessee River at vantage points to do battle with land-hungry pioneers traveling West.

The area we call St. Elmo was the site of Lookout Town, one of Chief Dragging Canoe’s primary headquarters and the crossroads of the ancient Trading Path and the Warpath, the perfect base for marauding raids on pioneers.  Rachel, who would become wife to President Andrew Jackson, was a small child moving by flatboat to settle Nashville when she heard the screams of a member of their party burned at the stake by Chief Dragging Canoe’s warriors.

In 1838 the songs of the Cherokee had barely faded and their footsteps were still echoing along the Trail of Tears when the State of Tennessee began selling land for $7.50 per acre in land lotteries.  Robert Cravens and Colonel James A. Whiteside bought most of the land on the side of Lookout Mountain and in the valley below.

Colonel A. M. Johnson came to Chattanooga in the 1850’s, began working in the tannery business and was trusted with a position as a post office route agent on one of the many rail lines coming into the quickly growing city.  Colonel Johnson also fell in love with the daughter of one of the town’s leaders, Thankful Whiteside.  Colonel Whiteside had both endorsed and promoted his daughter’s upcoming marriage to a lawyer from Shelbyville when, two days before the wedding, Thankful and Abraham eloped.

Col. Johnson became superintendent of a new railroad and during the Civil War he kept his family and their neighbors safe by using railroad boxcars and moving them around the South, avoiding battle zones and conflict.  Returning to Chattanooga he became a banker and led the development of the Lookout and Chattanooga Water Works.

During the 1878 outbreak of yellow fever Col. Johnson realized that the panic that sent area residents to higher land showed future demand for mountain homes and property.  Thankful had inherited land on the Eastern slope from her father and they built a community called St. Elmo.  This new suburb had the benefit of the new water system, the electric trolley and the Incline railways that began climbing the mountain in 1895.

Ironically, the Johnson’s daughter, Annie, eloped with Jack Betts two days before her wedding to another man.  The dedication in 1890 of the Chickamauga Chattanooga National Military Park further spurred a real estate and construction boon in the St. Elmo area.

The name Thankful continued to grace the ladies of this Chattanooga family and the spirit of their name was imprinted in their community as they added Sunday schools to carry the message from their mother parish of St. Paul’s in town and their Mission eventually became a self-supporting congregation.  When Col. Johnson died the Mission ended as he bequeathed the land across from his house for an Episcopal Church to be dedicated to the memory of his wife Thankful.

A magnificent organ, ornate stained glass, chimes and an old bell praise the memory of Thankful women and native stone graces the Gothic revival style church that still celebrates Chattanooga and a Thankful spirit.

There are several parks in St. Elmo and the heads of several trails meet there.  Visit www.outdoorchattanooga.com for trail hikes and schedules.  The Lower Station of the Incline has live music during most weekends and the Forest Hills Cemetery hosts Historic Strolls several times each year that make for terrific family adventures.