Chattanooga Mayor Carlile Died Of Yellow Fever In His Cameron Hill Mansion That Later Was A Hospital

One of the handsomest homes on the side of Cameron Hill was built by the city's mayor when few homes were nearby. Thomas Carlile died in the house at a relatively young age - the final victim of the Yellow Fever in 1878.

The home on West Ninth Street near the East Terrace was a two-story brick with an ornate porch and a handsome tower room at the top left. Built in 1875, the Carlile place occupied almost an entire block and had an extensive back yard.

Carlile was born and raised in Philadelphia and was in the jewelry business before the Civil War. He came to Chattanooga soon after the war was over as post quartermaster. He afterward was appointed provost marshal. Carlile was stationed in Chattanooga at the time of his marriage to the Philadelphia belle, Marion Bending. The couple decided to stake their future in Chattanooga. 

The Carliles were among the faithful members of St. Paul's Episcopal Church. With the church damaged during the war, the members temporarily worshiped in a room over a store. The altar consisted of a dry goods box covered with a tablecloth. The first service in the rebuilt church at the foot of Cameron Hill was held on Thanksgiving Day in 1867.

Thomas Carlile became an official of the Stanton railroad enterprise south of town. He served as purchasing agent and secretary. Carlile also took a large role in local Republican politics. He was a member of the Lookouts fire company. 

When the Yellow Fever hit and many Chattanoogans died, Mayor Carlile remained in town on the side of Cameron Hill. His family had moved to the Natural Bridge Hotel on Lookout Mountain after the third week of the epidemic. Mayor Carlile spent the night of Oct. 21 with his family on the mountain, and he returned to the city the next morning. He attended a meeting of the relief committee. Later in the day a member of his household found him in his room very sick. That night the staff member drove up the mountain to inform Mrs. Carlile, and she insisted on coming into town immediately. She and the messenger then drove back down the rough Whiteside Turnpike in the pitch darkness.

Mrs. Carlile, who had come to Chattanooga as a bride at the close of the Civil War, stayed by her husband's bed along with her brother-in-law, Will Carlile, and Dr. E.M. Wight. However, shortly after eight o'clock on the evening of Oct. 29, the death knell proclaimed the passing of the mayor of Chattanooga.

Despite cold weather and a steady rain, a long line of Chattanoogans joined the distraught Carlile widow and daughters for the funeral cortege. Those present included members of the city government, the relief committee and members of the Carlile Hook and Ladder Company. Mayor Carlile and the terrible Yellow Fever scourge of 1878 were then laid to rest in the Citizens Cemetery.   

The Carlile place then passed to the Ross's Landing pioneer John L. Divine. A native of Maryville, he had gone to Greeneville, Tn., to apprentice as a tailor under Andrew Johnson. He later accepted an offer to go to Mississippi to live with relatives. After three days of travel on horseback, Divine arrived at Ross's Landing. When he was ready to saddle up the next morning he found that his wallet with his fortune of 16 dollars and 75 cents was missing. He vowed to sell his horse and begin to earn money to pay for the night of lodging. He took a job as a clerk for Samuel Williams and wound up marrying Elizabeth Williams, the daughter of his employer. They raised a large family.

Later, Dr. George West and Dr. George Manning Ellis purchased the Carlile-Divine mansion and converted it to the West-Ellis Sanitarium. It was remodeled with 16 rooms for patients and staff.  

Carver Memorial Hospital opened in the historic building on June 18, 1947. It was "said to have been the first municipally-owned, tax-supported hospital in America which was staffed by Negro doctors, nurses and other personnel for the care of Negro patients." It closed in 1962 when the mansion turned hospital was demolished by Urban Renewal.