Ingenious Foundryman John T. Cahill Built Homes On Pine, College Streets; Died At 33

The ingenious foundryman John T. Cahill built a "neat two-story dwelling" on Pine between Fourth and Fifth in 1879. His father, the molder William Cahill, lived there. The brickmaker John W. Wells provided brick portions of the home, and a Mr. Dorn was the carpenter.

John Cahill was born in Lynchburg, Va., in 1855. His parents, William and Margaret Maher Cahill, were natives of Ireland who had moved to Chattanooga before the Civil War.

John Cahill learned the foundry trade at the foundry of Thomas Webster on King Street. When Webster decided to close his foundry at the end of 1874, the 19-year-old Cahill acquired many of the patterns. He first rented a small frame building on Railroad Avenue for his foundry. Power was secured from the nearby planing mill of McArdle and Dunning. Cahill soon bought a lot from Col. A.M. Johnson at the corner of Boyce (South Chestnut) and Hooke (13th Street) and moved his foundry there in 1880. A building that was 200x218 feet was erected.

Cahill invented a new type of water box and the popular Cahill grate. He was the first ironmaster in the South to manufacture marbelized cast iron works. The Cahill firm's specialties were mantels and household fixtures.

John Cahill married Ellen Burchell of Knoxville in 1881. The Cahills lived on Boyce near his foundry. However, by 1887 he was occupying a new home at 124 College St. where several charming homes were being built in this "very desirable part of the city" on College Hill - just down from Cameron Hill. His neighbors included Harriet Whiteside Gaskill, who in 1879 had "two neat cottages" built on College Street.

John J. Mahoney, a Cahill relative, came to Chattanooga to work at the foundry.

Mahoney was born in Baltimore in 1858. His father, William Mahoney, was a native of Ireland. His mother was Catherine Cahill Mahoney. William Mahoney was a Confederate veteran and he owned and operated a fleet of drays. The Mahoney family lived in Philadelphia before moving to Chattanooga in 1870. The Mahoneys returned to Philadelphia when his mother became ill.

John T. Cahill at a young age suffered from failing health, and he sold part of his business. The new partners were Frank H. Caldwell and Frank Whiteside. John J. Mahoney agreed to return from Philadelphia to become the general manager of the reorganized Cahill Foundry. Mahoney had married Mary Langley, a native of Manchester, England, in 1882. The Mahoneys also lived on College Street.

John T. Cahill went to California to try a different climate. However, Chattanoogans were saddened to learn that on June 27, 1889, the genius foundryman had died at the age of 33. John J. Mahoney then took over the Cahill operation.

James W. Edwards, who was a brick contractor along with S.E. Frankhouse, later lived at the Cahill home at 405 Pine St. Bernard T. Perkins, a pharmacist, was one of the last residents of 405 Pine. 

No photos have yet been found of the Cahill homes on Cameron Hill.