Ringgold is a city in and the county seat of Catoosa County, Georgia, United States. Its population was 3,414 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Chattanooga metropolitan area.

History

Ringgold was founded in 1846 and incorporated as a city in 1847. It was named after Samuel Ringgold, a hero of the Battle of Palo Alto in the Mexican–American War.

Ringgold is where The General locomotive stopped during the Great Locomotive Chase on April 12, 1862. Ringgold is also home to the historic Ringgold Depot, which still contains bullet marks from the Civil War.

The Battle of Ringgold Gap took place on November 27, 1863. Confederate Major General Patrick Cleburne with 4,100 men used the mountain pass known as the Ringgold Gap to stall the advance of Union Major General Joseph Hooker and his troops. Hooker's troops were over 12,000 strong. It was a Confederate victory because it allowed Confederate artillery and wagon trains to move safely through the Ringgold Gap unharmed while inflicting high Union casualties.

The Whitman-Anderson House located in Ringgold is listed in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). From their house, the Whitman family watched the Battle of Ringgold Gap, during which William Whitman's general store was destroyed. After the Confederates evacuated Ringgold, General Grant requisitioned the Whitman's house as his headquarters. After General Grant moved on, General Sherman ordered the burning of the town of Ringgold, but spared the Whitman house, which remained in the Whitman family until 1902.

Dolly Parton married her husband, Carl Dean, in Ringgold, in May 1966.

On March 14, 2002, a sudden heavy fog played havoc with morning traffic and contributed to one of the worst traffic pileups in history; 125 vehicles crashed on Interstate 75 North and four people died.

Tornado

thumb|Houses in Ringgold destroyed by an EF4 tornado

On April 27, 2011, an EF4 tornado touched down in Ringgold and Catoosa County, leaving a path of destruction. The tornado killed twenty people along a path across Catoosa County and over the state line in Hamilton and Bradley counties. Eight died in Ringgold, including an entire family of four, and at least thirty others were injured. Many homes, businesses, and schools were damaged or destroyed.

Geography

Ringgold is located near the center of Catoosa County at (34.917170, -85.115698). U.S. Routes 41 and 76 pass through the center of town as Nashville Street, leading northwest to downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee, and southeast to Dalton, Georgia. Interstate 75 passes through the southern part of the city with access from 348; the highway leads northwest to Chattanooga and southeast to Atlanta.

thumb|Ringgold, Georgia Exit

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which , or 0.11%, is covered by water. Taylor Ridge runs through Ringgold; a gap in the ridge is located just east of the city center, with the part of the ridge running to the south called Taylors Ridge and to the north called White Oak Mountain. South Chickamauga Creek, a tributary of the Tennessee River, runs through Ringgold.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by relatively high temperatures and evenly distributed precipitation throughout the year. According to the Köppen climate classification, Ringgold has a humid subtropical climate,Cfa on climate maps.

Demographics

2020 census

{| class="wikitable"

|+Ringgold racial composition

!Race

!Num.

!Perc.

|-

|White (non-Hispanic)

|2,799

|81.99%

|-

|Black or African American (non-Hispanic)

|177

|5.18%

|-

|Native American

|14

|0.41%

|-

|Asian

|56

|1.64%

|-

|Pacific Islander

|6

|0.18%

|-

|Other/mixed

|211

|6.18%

|-

|Hispanic or Latino

|151

|4.42%

|}

As of the 2020 census, Ringgold had a population of 3,414. The median age was 39.1 years. 22.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 19.3% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 88.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 81.9 males age 18 and over.

99.8% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.2% lived in rural areas.

There were 1,515 households in Ringgold, of which 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 36.0% were married-couple households, 18.3% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 40.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 35.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. with 606 full-time teachers and over 9,809 students.

Ringgold High School is the zoned high school.

In 1954, the Ringgold Elementary School was destroyed in a fire.

Notable people

  • Logan Baldwin, professional baseball player
  • Edgar William Brown Sr. (1859–1917) physician turned successful businessman in Texas lumber and oil industry, born in Ringgold
  • Austin Davis, professional football player, coach, born in Ringgold
  • David Dreyer, American politician
  • Stacey Evans, American politician
  • Randall Franks American film and TV actor, entertainer, author
  • Roy Hawes (1926–2017), professional baseball player, died in Ringgold
  • Dewayne Hill, American politician
  • Hugh Hill, (1879–1958), professional baseball player, born in Ringgold
  • Barbara Leigh (born 1946), actress, born in Ringgold
  • McCracken Poston, attorney, author, politician
  • O. Wayne Rollins (1912–1991), co-founder of Rollins, Inc.
  • Cole Wilcox, professional baseball player, Heritage High School alumnus

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References

  • City of Ringgold official website
  • "Ringgold Gap; A Civil War Battle" , at About North Georgia website