Roads whose names begin with “Old” have a lot of interesting history associated with them. They acquire the “old” designation when traffic is switched to a new road, such as when a highway is straightened. Often, development takes place along the new route and helps to preserve some of the buildings and scenery along the old route.

Around Chattanooga, one can see what it was like to travel across Missionary Ridge prior to the tunnels by taking Old Ringgold Road. Curving around the slopes of Lookout Mountain is Old Wauhatchie Pike, which preceded Cummings Highway.

Old Hixson Pike winds along the banks of North Chickamauga Creek and crosses the railroad at a spot where the business district of Hixson once was.

According to the family genealogy, “Hixson-Hixon of Tennessee,” Ephraim Hixson, Jr. and his wife, Margaret, were pioneer settlers of the area. Ephraim was a native of Greene County in upper east Tennessee and fought in the War of 1812. He and his family moved to Hamilton County about 1830. Ephraim Hixson Jr. eventually acquired 1,000 acres of land in the North Chickamauga Creek basin.

The family’s home was near where Old Hixson Pike crosses the railroad today. Ephraim was killed in a farming accident in 1855 and was laid to rest in the “burying ground” that he had designated. His wife, Margaret, however, lived until 1888, and saw the area begin to develop.

There were two grist mills built along the creek. Where Lower Mill Road crosses North Chickamauga was the “lower mill,” so named because it was downstream of the “upper mill” at Boy Scout Road.

In 1883, Margaret Hixson and her children provided land for a school and a Masonic lodge. Other descendants of Ephraim and Margaret Hixson deeded the land for a new church, which is today known as Hixson United Methodist.

In the 1870s, the Cincinnati Southern mapped the route of their new railroad through the area settled by the Hixson family. The community was known as Lakeside at that time. However, the lake had shrunk to the size of a pond, so the new rail stop was renamed Lookout, as this was the first point at which an engineer on a southbound train could see Lookout Mountain.

Due to confusion with other stations with “Lookout” in their name, the station was renamed two years later to “Hixson,” in honor of E.F. Hixson, who was station master, ticket agent and post master and the grandson of the founding father of the community.

Mr. Hixson also established a general store along Adams Road, fronting the depot, and lived next door. He served on the Hamilton County Court and earned the nickname “Squire Hixson.”

Thirty-five years after founding his general store, E.F. Hixson was interviewed by the Chattanooga Times during a routine merchandise-buying trip to Chattanooga. Noting the anniversary, he said, “The changes in Chattanooga since that time have been wonderful, and I have been interested in this development, and more or less vitally connected with it.” He went on to predict – very accurately - that Hixson would one day become a close suburb of Chattanooga through annexation.

By the early 1900s, the Hixson community had grown to include many families, several farms, churches, and a school. Most people made their living through farming.

Tim Gooden Jr., a longtime resident and Hixson native, recalls what the area was like before it became a suburb of Chattanooga. “The folks in the city called us country boys,” said Mr. Gooden, who added, There were orchards on the east side of Gold Point Ridge, now known as Big Ridge, whose slopes captured the morning mists from the river and provided shade from the afternoon sun. Truck farmers carried their produce to the Farmers Market in Chattanooga.

Some men, including Mr. Gooden’s father, were iron workers who welded the framework of bridges and other structures. The construction of Chickamauga Dam in the late 1930s provided employment at a time when many were out of work. Most ladies did not work outside the home; those who did were employed primarily in textile plants such as Dixie Yarns and Signal Knitting Mills. For recreation, the creek provided opportunities for swimming, such as at the “curve-in” where Old Hixson Pike crosses the stream. Women quilted, and men organized baseball teams.

Today, the Hixson ZIP Code encompasses a very wide area. When Mr. Gooden was growing up, Hixson was contained within a short radius from the railroad depot. Middle Valley, Hamillville, and Dallas were considered separate communities.

Mr. Gooden noted that it was rarely necessary to travel to Chattanooga. When a trip was made, it “seemed like that it took all day.” Hixson Pike was a two-lane, tar-and-gravel road. Some of the other major routes of that day still exist: Norcross, Gadd, Grubb, Hamill, and Middle Valley Roads. Highway 153 came along much later.

Despite its relatively small size, three groceries existed in Hixson when Mr. Gooden was growing up. There was one on Adams Road where the Glory Days antique shop was located in recent times. Another was on Old Hixson Pike where Garrett’s Lawn Mower Repair is today, and one more where the Hixson Masonic Lodge building is now. Across from the Garrett’s building is a wooden shack where feed was stored. There was also a small restaurant where the Rowlett company’s office is today – the chimney is a survivor of a fire at the restaurant.

Hixson’s school, which housed grades 1 through 12, was established in a house and later moved to the present Hixson Middle School site. An early photo of the band showed that many of the musicians wore overalls, and that the instruments included cornets and banjos.

The Hixson post office was on Adams Road across from the railroad depot. Tim Gooden, Jr. shared two photos of the depot and one of the Hixson school with me.

I e-mailed copies of the railroad photos to Alan Walker, who is the historian at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum, and asked him what was known about the Hixson depot. Alan replied, “Hixson was known as a “flag stop," which meant that only certain trains stopped to serve that station and only on signal. If the station agent had a passenger for particular train, he would signal the approaching train either showing a green and white flag or flag stop signal during the day or a green light beside a white light at night. Only local passenger trains served flag stops such as Hixson. Railway express and mail trains only stopped at small stations such as Hixson if there was mail or express to put off that would be damaged being thrown from a moving train.”

Mr. Walker estimated that one of the photos of the depot was taken around 1916, based on the type of signals shown. He also noted the presence of a “cattle guard” in one photo. “Railroads had to install these to prevent cattle from wandering from one property to another by walking on the railroad right of way.”

By the mid-1900s, the Hixson depot was gone, and the community began to acquire a suburban look. Employment opportunities developed through the advent of the Tennessee Valley Authority and DuPont. Retail centers including Red Food Stores, the Hixson Shopping Center, and Northgate vanquished the general stores.

Highway 153 and Thrasher Bridge (on which Mr. Gooden’s father worked) connected Hixson to other parts of the county.

In the 1950s, a new route was developed for Hixson Pike, which included a viaduct over the railroad, as well as a general straightening. Much of it has since been widened to four lanes, with another section from Valleybrook to Dallas Hollow Road currently undergoing similar widening. However, on days when all lanes are clogged by traffic, it’s nice to take a detour onto Old Hixson Pike and meander under the shade trees and along the banks of North Chickamauga Creek. In some ways, it still looks like it did when Ephraim and Margaret Hixson lived there.

Thanks to Tim Gooden Jr. and Alan Walker for their contributions to this article. Also, thanks to Chattanoogan.com reader, Keith Woods, for responding to my request for information on the Hixson depot area, and for referring me to Mr. Gooden. Thanks also to my friend, Dave Kaplan, for referring me to Mr. Walker. I was beginning to think that all memories of the Hixson depot had been lost.

If you have memories of old Hixson, please send me an e-mail at jolleyh@signaldata.net.

Hixson High School opened in 1908. Entire student body for grades 1-12 stand in front of the new structure.