The old Boynton Park. Click to enlarge
The Chattanooga Parks and Recreation web site lists Boynton Park as being on Cameron Hill and describes it as “a one-acre park with Civil War cannons and a fountain which provides a scenic overlook of the city.” The overlook has appeared in numerous photos of downtown since the park opened in the mid-1970’s. However, this isn’t the first park on Cameron Hill with that name.
Cameron Hill originally had a shape that was noted by many as resembling a miniature Lookout Mountain, rising in elevation from south to north. By the turn of the twentieth century, residential areas had been developed on Cameron Hill and adjoining lower hills such as Reservoir Hill and College Hill, and erased some of the legacies of the Civil War. The city’s business and industrial leaders built stately mansions on the slopes of the hill, with less expensive homes intermixed. In some cases, the houses stood on the sites of Civil War forts, saw mills, and the city’s first water reservoir. There were trees growing again where a once dense forest had been cleared by soldiers for firewood and lumber.
From the crest of Cameron Hill, signals had been sent during the Civil War to Signal Mountain. In 1903, the Board of Aldermen of Chattanooga voted to build a park at that historic site, and to name it for Gen. Henry V. Boynton. He had fought in the battles of Missionary Ridge and Chickamauga and the war with Spain, and received the Congressional Medal of Honor. Following the war, he wrote a history of the Chattanooga battles, and led the development of Chickamauga-Chattanooga National Military Park. In Gen. Boynton’s letter of appreciation for having the park named for him, he commented, “Aside from its views of historic ground, the wide panorama seen from this new park is worth long travel to look upon.”
George Ochs donated land adjoining Boynton Park, increasing its size to 10 acres. The City Water Company built a water tank at Boynton Park in 1909, and the city built a pavilion around it. Military band concerts were held there during World War I, as well as Liberty Bond sales. On the Fourth of July, fireworks displays were launched from the top of Cameron Hill, a practice brought back by the Chattanooga Lookouts in recent years. Former Cameron Hill residents have told me of their youthful experiences at Boynton Park, including watching boats on the river, as well as climbing to the roof of the pavilion by means of its drain pipe The Cameron Hill Garden Club and West Side Improvement Association were instrumental in the landscaping of the park – including flowering cherry trees, rose gardens, iris plantings, walkways, a goldfish pond, and Civil War markers. When the pavilion needed repainting in 1943, paint was formulated at a local vocational school from byproducts of welding operations.
Boynton Park was contained within the 400 acres of a combined urban renewal, bridge, and freeway project launched in the 1950’s. The city was deeply divided over the proposed changes. Proponents saw the need to ensure that the Interstate Highway route would pass through Chattanooga by committing fill dirt from each of the West Side’s hills, with over 150 feet to be taken from Cameron Hill’s crown. They also believed that redevelopment could only be achieved by removing all structures – including many that were substandard – and replacing steep, narrow streets with modern roads. Opposing this were those who were committed to preserving the beauty and history of Cameron Hill, and Boynton Park in particular. Zella Armstrong, Hamilton County historian, wrote newspaper columns on local history, and used them as a forum for opposing the cutting down of the hill, which she compared to Nob Hill of San Francisco. Mrs. Sim Perry Long, Mrs. Walter Cline and Mrs. W.H. Wilson were among others who joined the crusade. The debate took place while the Olgiati (originally, Cedar Street) Bridge was being constructed, and continued for a few years after it opened in 1959. Protestors took the matter to chancery court, contending that by removing Boynton Park, the city would lose tourist dollars and be forced to raise property taxes. On May 25, 1962, the state supreme court upheld a ruling of the chancery court that there was no legal ground on which to sue. The earth-moving operation began immediately. Ironically, the water tower and pavilion proved to be very difficult to demolish, as they were constructed of a steel-bar net covered by thick concrete. Many years after being excavated, the dirt from the original Boynton Park now lies beneath Interstate 24.
If you wish to comment on this article, please send me an e-mail at jolleyh@signaldata.net. I am very interested in hearing from those with memories of the original Boynton Park.