Chickamauga is a city in Walker County, Georgia, United States. The population was 2,917 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Chattanooga metropolitan area.
History
Before the 1800s, the Chickamauga Cherokee settled around Chickamauga Creek, where they farmed and hunted the lands. They stayed there until their forced exodus during the Trail of Tears (1838). In the early to mid-19th century, the present town of Chickamauga was a large plantation in the rolling hills of northern Georgia. When the Cherokee Nation was divided into districts and courts in 1820, Crawfish Springs was made the capital of the new Chickamauga District. After the Cherokee removal, the first court in Walker County was held there in the former Cherokee courthouse. The local post office was Crawfish Springs.
During the War of 1812, 500 Cherokee warriors from the area fought alongside General Andrew Jackson at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, against the Creek Indians, who were aligned with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The battle ended in a victory for the U.S. Army.
The Lee and Gordon families greatly influenced Chickamauga's post-Cherokee history. In 1836 Gwinnett County native James Gordon established a plantation at Crawfish Springs and built a grist mill two miles east of town, on Chickamauga Creek. Lee and Gordon's Mill, which contained the area's first general store, was situated near a blacksmith shop and stagecoach stop. From 1840 to 1847, Gordon built his Doric-columned brick house (known today as the Gordon-Lee Mansion), which overlooks Crawfish Springs.
The area was settled by many other farm families and life was busy and fruitful in the fertile valleys, until even this remote part of the South was visited by the sounds of cannon and guns during the American Civil War. The Battle of Chickamauga, named for nearby Chickamauga Creek, was fought on September 19–20, 1863. It involved more than 150,000 soldiers from the Union and Confederate armies. Before the battle, Union Gen. William Rosecrans put his headquarters at the Gordon Lee Mansion. During the battle, wounded and injured soldiers were cared for in the home and nearby buildings. Many Union doctors remained behind to care for their patients after the Southern victory. Parched soldiers of both sides drank from the town's namesake springs.
Crawfish Springs was the site of an 1889 reunion of veteran soldiers, Northern and Southern, who had fought in the Battle of Chickamauga. Called the "Blue and Gray Barbecue", hundreds of soldiers and their families visited the sites of the bloody battle over 25 years before, smoking the pipe of peace, healing the wounds, and helping start the Chickamauga National Park. The Chickamauga Battlefield, established in 1890, is just north of the City of Chickamauga, and is a part of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, the first and largest in the country.
In 1888, a railroad line was built through Crawfish Springs. A syndicate bought the land and used some of it to develop a summer resort, complete with the Park Hotel, which opened in 1891. Around this same time, the Central of Georgia Railway built a stone depot for visitors to the hotel (both the tracks and depot remain today). After passenger service ceased in the 1950s, the city schools, library system, and recreation department used the depot. It now houses the Walker County Regional Heritage and Model Train Museum. Occasional tourist train excursions stop at the Chickamauga depot. The Durham Iron and Coal Company built coke ovens on Chickamauga's north side, used to transform coal into coke for iron and steel foundries in Chattanooga. Beginning in 1891, coal was transported by train twice daily from Lookout Mountain to Chickamauga. Production peaked in 1904, at about 700 to 1,000 tons of coal per day, and ended entirely during the Great Depression. The Crystal Springs Bleachery Company was a major local employer and a significant player in the development of the town. The mill remained in operation until 2013. Other notable manufacturers have interests in Chickamauga such as Shaw Industries.
Over the last century, the city has changed and grown, from a population of 95 (in 1900) to 3,101 (in the 2010 official Census). The city is surrounded by the north Georgia mountains and valleys, and the history of the area has been rediscovered and restored wherever possible. Today Chickamauga is host to a wide variety of antique, boutique and specialty shops, cafes and restaurants. Within a few blocks of the main shopping district are public parks and historic sites, including Crawfish Springs Park, Coke Oven Park, and Holland-Watson Veterans Memorial Park. From April to September the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum offers weekend train excursions from Chattanooga to Chickamauga.
When the city was incorporated in 1891, the city's north–south avenues were named for Confederate generals. Today avenues named for Longstreet, Hood, Crittenden, Stewart, and more are clearly marked by large, wood framed signs displaying a description of the General's accomplishments, his picture, and flags of the day.
Several major Civil War battle sites and museums are near the city: Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park, Lookout Mountain, Lee & Gordon's Mill, McLemore's Cove, and the Martin-Davis House, on the site of the Battle of Davis's Cross Roads.
Geography
Chickamauga is located at (34.874696, −85.292751). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and 0.55% is water.
Climate
Chickamuga has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa), with cool to mild winters and hot, humid summers. Rainfall is abundant and highest in the winter and spring months, with an average of 57 inches (1,449 mm).
Education
Chickamauga City Schools
Chickamauga City Schools is a public, tax-funded institution that is open to all students who live within the city limits. Students who live outside the city may also attend, but must pay tuition since they do not contribute tax dollars to the school. The school district holds Kindergarten to grade twelve, and consists of an elementary school, middle school and high school. The district has 68 full-time teachers and over 1,293 students.
Walker County Schools
The Walker County Schools, for those not in the city limits, The district has 577 full-time teachers and over 8,844 students.
Other schools
Walker County Alternative Education Center
The Alternative Education Center in Walker County is located in the former Osburn Elementary School. When Cherokee Ridge Elementary was built, the students from Osburn were transferred to the new facility and the Alternative Education program was moved into the still-usable Osburn.
Oakwood Christian Academy
The Oakwood Baptist Church founded a private Christian-based academy in 1992. Currently the school offers grades Pre-K through 12th, with over 275 students enrolled. It sponsors sports teams such as cheerleading and basketball. It was announced in December 2008 that by 2012 Oakwood Academy will grow to include a high school.
Culture and tourism
Tourist attractions
Lee and Gordon's Mills, one of the oldest mills in the state of Georgia, is located about two miles east of the center of town on the west bank of the Chickamauga Creek.
The Walker County Regional Heritage and Model Train Museum is housed in the stone train depot building. The museum exhibits Civil War collectibles, Indian artifacts and Cherokee arrowheads, World War I artifacts, antique guns and furniture and a complete working display of Lionel Old Gauge model trains that date back to 1947.
The Chickamauga coke ovens are located just north of downtown Chickamauga on Highway 341. The beehive ovens of the Durham Iron and Coal Company were designed to turn coal into coke for use in the iron and steel foundries in nearby Chattanooga, Tennessee.
The Gordon Lee Mansion was originally the Gordon residence built by James Gordon, who began construction in 1840 and completed in 1847. The mansion and surrounding buildings are now used as a bed and breakfast as well as a restaurant and banquet center.
Crawfish Spring, the main water supply for the early settlements, and later for the city of Chickamauga in the early to mid-20th century, is located on Cove Road just south of the main town and across the road from the Gordon Lee Mansion. The spring is no longer used as a water supply and has been converted into a park setting with picnic tables, a swing, and a gazebo.
The Holland-Watson Veterans' Park was dedicated on May 27, 2002. It is named after two Chickamauga soldiers, Sgt. Eddie H. Holland and Cpl. Thomas A. "Tommy" Watson, who lost their lives during Vietnam. A Huey helicopter is mounted on a pedestal in the center of the walking track as a symbol of the war and those who fought and died for their country.
Notable people
- Ashley Harkleroad, former professional tennis player
- Steve Tarvin, member of the Georgia House of Representatives
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Chickamauga had a population of 2,917, with 1,145 households and 735 families residing in the city.
The median age was 41.0 years. 25.1% of residents were under the age of 18 and 17.6% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 94.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 86.5 males age 18 and over.
Of the city's households, 34.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. 52.8% were married-couple households, 13.3% had a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 30.1% had a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 26.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.