When I was visiting my mother recently, I mentioned that I was doing research for an article on the history of the Chattanooga Stockyards. She said, “Oh, your grandfather would have been thrilled. That was one of his favorite places to go.” Being a farmer who never took a vacation, my grandfather found relaxation in going either to the courthouse square in Jasper, TN or to the Chattanooga Stockyards. The stockyards are still there today at 3105 St. Elmo Avenue, one block off South Broad Street.
The Chattanooga Stockyards are one of the few that remain in operation inside the boundaries of a major city. There has been a stockyard on the property since 1911, when the Foust-Yarnell Stockyard was established. The founders were from two prominent Chattanooga families, the Fousts and Yarnells.
Addison C. Foust was involved in several area businesses, including the Foust Brothers Stockyard at 17 Whiteside (now called Broad Street), the Chattanooga Garage, and developed a subdivision on the Foust family farm near Rossville. He had previously been superintendent of the Union Stockyards, which was located adjacent to the Nashville, Chattanooga, and St. Louis Railroad, near the present-day Southside Grill. John T. and Grant Yarnell had also been in the livestock business as the Yarnell Brothers Stockyard on East Ninth Street. The three men founded the Foust-Yarnell Stockyard in 1905, which was first located at the corner of Whiteside and Montgomery (now called Main Street), then moved to the St. Elmo location in 1911.
The Foust-Yarnell Stockyards and neighboring businesses were all involved in livestock-related products. The Scholze Tannery processed animal hides into leather, which the Southern Saddlery crafted into saddles. The Scholze Brothers Soap Factory used animal fat in its products. Powell Packaging was a meat-processor. Other businesses near the stockyard saw the farmers as potential customers. Among them were the Tennessee Horse and Mule Company, J. S. Lynch Mule Company, Broadway Feed, the Stockyard Café, and blacksmith Anthony Pardiso. In the first decades that Foust-Yarnell was in business, many families lived and worked on farms throughout Hamilton County in areas such as Hixson, Harrison, Mountain Creek, and East Chattanooga. One didn’t have to go very far from the stockyard to find farms, as across the river, Moccasin Bend was farmed until the 1950’s.
Ownership of the stockyard passed to Orla “Ollie” Yarnell, and then to Joe Allison in 1951. During the 1950’s, one of the buildings on the property gained a new use. Across from the stockyards, Foust-Yarnell had its offices in a small brick building, still standing today at 3104 St. Elmo Avenue. From the mid-1950’s until his death in 1972, James. Bradley (“J. B.”) Denney ran a television and applicance retail store in the former stockyard office. He sold the Muntz brand of televisions which were manufactured by a company owned by California electronics pioneer, Earl Muntz. Mr. Denney and his father, Matthew R. Denney, had previously been employed by Foust-Yarnell. His mother was Jessie Yarnell Denney, who was proprietor of the Ming Toy Hat Shop at 4102 St. Elmo Avenue.
A 3-alarm fire in March, 1981 destroyed the original stockyard barn. 100 head of cattle and 25 hogs perished in the blaze. A new barn was erected on the same site, and the stockyard resumed operation. According to the city directory, the current owner of the Chattanooga Stockyards is Kay McKechnie. Last Monday, I drove past the stockyards. There was a scene familiar to my grandfather – trucks and trailers parked at the stockyards, with farmers inside trying to work out the best price for their livestock.
If you have memories of the stockyards or of the J.B. Denney Appliance Store, please send me an e-mail at jolleyh@signaldata.net.
When Moccasin Bend was being farmed