It was a cold wintery day in late February 1912, but the Chattanooga Commissioners were
already focused on welcoming Spring to the city when Commissioners H. Clay Evans and T. C.
Betterton introduced a resolution at the commission meeting. Olympia Park, to be purchased
by the city with a first installment of $20,000 of the total of $100,000, was to be renamed
Warner Park in honor of Chattanooga Commissioner Joseph H. Warner. The ordinance was
immediately adopted; naming the city’s centrally-located park for the well-loved Warner
seemed appropriate. Mayor T. C. Thompson was authorized to execute notes for the balance of
the purchase price so that Warner Park would soon become city property, “free and clear.”
Joseph H. Warner had first seen Chattanooga while serving in Company A, 19 th Tennessee
Regiment Confederate Infantry where he was captured at Missionary Ridge and consigned to a
POW camp. The former prisoner chose Chattanooga for the next stage of his own
‘reconstruction’ and plunged into an entrepreneurial role that witnessed him founding an
expansive hardware business, helping organize one of the largest banks and pushed for
innovation while touting Chattanooga’s position as the most progressive of Southern cities,
eventually serving in local government as the first Commissioner of Public Utilities, Grounds and
Buildings.
The following day, February 27, 1912, the Chattanooga Daily Times reported the council action:
“It Is now Warner Park. Olympia is rechristened in Major Warner’s Honor. Name of
Commissioner to be Perpetuated.” The writer went on to explain that it “was no more than just
to Major Warner” and the citizens of a modern Chattanooga that the playground park be
named for the man who had envisioned a movement in the city that would someday result in a
comprehensive park system. The story also included the fact that Warner, “clearly
embarrassed” by the action and the attention focused on him, finally declared that he “would
think none the less of Olympia because of the new name.” Several of the commission’s
attendees were heard to offer approval for the change, with more than one commenting that
Warner Park was a “catchy name.”
In that day’s editorial, the Times noted that it was Major Warner who had first suggested the
city purchase Olympia Park from the Chattanooga Electric Railway Company, having been
instrumental in the railway’s original purchase of the land. Now, because of his initiative as
“dean of the board and head of the department of public works,” the site would become a
public park and playground, fulfilling a vision for a community-gathering site designed for
families.
Before the week’s end, the leadership of East Lake offered their own resolution in support of
both the purchase of Olympia Park and the renaming of the future playground extraordinary.
“Whereas we believe that whatever is good for the development of the city as a whole is
likewise good for every section or integral part thereof… believing that nothing could now be
done that would add to Chattanooga’s need more than a complete and adequate park system.”
The community continued to weigh in on the subject of expanding Chattanooga’s parks. On
March 26, 1912, Commissioner Warner addressed the city council and read a resolution
submitted by the Chattanooga Woman’s Club supporting a $250,000 bond issue designated for
parks. The resolution contained a statement "approving” of the purchase of Olympia [now
Warner Park] for a much-need public playground. The resolution was filed for future reference.
With the purchase of Warner Park approved by the Chattanooga Council, upgrades began
immediately and event organizers began to look at the playground-park for public events. As
the academic year approached its end and the final rounds of athletic championships
approached, the Chattanooga High School Class Chase announced that it would relocate from
Chamberlain Field to Warner Park. Founding event Coach Will McAllester, in conjunction with
the Hamilton County Schools and the Y. M. C. A., planned track competitions for both
elementary and high school individuals and teams. The announcement promised “handsome
trophies” along with “gold, silver and bronze buttons” for winning placements. Additionally, the
elementary and high school amassing the highest number of points would receive a “handsome
shield.” Points would be awarded as 5 points for first place, 3 points for second place and 1
point for third place.
Almost simultaneously, the City Council announced that work had begun on renovations to the
park site. Commissioner H. Clay Evans explained the need for parks was as “great as that of
public schools, paved streets or sewers.”
Warner Park was poised to become an destination site for Chattanoogans.
* * *
Linda Moss Mines, Chattanooga-Hamilton County Historian, chairs the Chattanooga Parks and
Outdoors Committee.