With Signal Mountain ’s centennial less than four years away – the town’s original charter was granted on April 4, 1919 – officials think it’s high time planning for the celebration gets underway.
Monday evening, during their regular monthly meeting, town council members will vote on the nominations of six men and women to serve on Signal’s centennial celebration subcommittee.
Nominees include James Douthat, Olive “Lolly” Durant, Patrick Emanuel, Paul Hendricks, Rita Irvin and John Wynne.
Their terms, if they are approved, will expire Dec. 31, 2016.
According to the town’s website, Signal Mountain began in the 1800s as an unincorporated summer retreat for families from Chattanooga and the surrounding area anxious to escape the heat and humidity in the valley.
Others were driven to the relative safety of the mountain by fear of the cholera epidemic in Chattanooga in 1873, the yellow fever epidemic in 1878 and other health calamities.
During the early 1900s, one of the seasonal visitors – Charles E. James – bought up acreage around Signal Point and began selling lots for the construction of summer homes.
Mr. James also built the Signal Mountain Inn, a luxurious facility which drew visitors from across the nation, and a trolley which made it easier to get from Chattanooga to the top of the mountain.
His developments – which included a golf course – were often visited by livestock since early settlers allowed their animals to graze wherever they wanted.
Tired of finding cows and pigs nibbling the grass in their yards and on the fairways, residents requested a charter from the state legislature, the town’s website notes.
“On April 4, 1919, the charter was granted and the first order of business for the newly elected government was to outlaw animals in the town and hire a man with a horse to corral the animals and enforce the law,” it concludes.