The following is an exact repeat of an article that has been replicated several times in the “boom or doom” history of Gig City since it creation as community before and after the War to Suppress the Rebellion to the present:
The period from Jan. 1 through March affected the city and the county then and for many years thereafter. Chattanooga experienced a boom in those three months and thousands of real estate transactions took place.
Countless companies were organized, some survived and some are even now in existence.
Many others passed away in a brief time. Large hotels were built in the Chattanooga area and great iron, gas and coal developments were planned.
There was a confidence in the city's future which was misleading and was not sustained at that time, however certain its predictions were to prove in later years. Real estate mounted in value and speculators traded option after option at marvelous prices which continually increased until the crash. It is said that many lots changed hands several times in a single day and that county officials were almost swamped with necessary recording.
The boom crashed in March. Note paying, foreclosures and failures of many schemes became the order of the day, and in some cases property reverted to the original owners after having passed through half a dozen hands.
The sudden change from fabulous prosperity to liability and great anxiety taxed the financial resources of the town's leaders and their plans and patience. It was months before normalcy was restored. Nevertheless the city attracted investors and capital found its way into many channels - chiefly in manufacturing interests, which became an important asset of the community
The above paragraphs were extracted from Volume II of “The History of Hamilton County and Chattanooga, Tennessee” (1940- The Lookout Publishing Company), authored by Zella Armstrong (and others), matriarch of the former named debutante ball banned to non-existence because of its alleged connection to a plant grown on farms in Dixie (oops again).
In the event you are a new comer to the “Scenic City of the South,” the period of history herein mentioned is January-March 1887.
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