PARK AND CEMETERY 
364 
j 
Farmer family is recalled by some of 
Chattanooga’s pioneer citizens as be- 
ing among the early settlers. The son 
of R. M. and M. K. Hooke was buried 
in 1839. 
On many of the old tombstones the 
inscriptions are almost — and in some 
cases entirely — obliterated. They 
were rudely cut by unskilled hands 
and did not withstand the ravages of 
time. Evan Evans and wife, natives 
of South Wales, were buried in 1840. 
The Ruohs monument marks the 
graves of Joseph Ruohs and wife. 
Joseph Ruohs was born in Switzerland 
in 1823, and died in Chattanooga in 
1907. The Crutchfield and Watkins 
monuments mark the graves in the 
Citizens’ cemetery of two old families. 
Larkin Hair is among the old citizens 
of Chattanaago buried in this first 
cemetery. 
The grave of J. A. Parham is among 
the list of early settlers. In his life 
he published the Chattanooga Gazette, 
the first newspaper published in that 
city, and the first copy of which was 
printed under an oak tree on Walnut 
street. 
Many victims of the smallpox epi- 
demic, whch raged just after the war, 
were placed in the Citizens’ cemetery. 
There has been no record kept of the 
burials in this old cemetery. It is 
closed for burial purposes now, except 
to those who own lots and wish to use 
them. The sexton, H. A. Beaver, gives 
the average number of burials as two 
a month. The sexton has made the 
estimate that there are 3,000 graves in 
the cemetery. Many of these are not 
located, however. 
The extreme western portion of the 
cemetery has been divided off from 
the burying ground enclosure proper, 
with the intention of converting it 
into a park. The subject was agitated 
some time ago of making it a park in 
memory of Hattie Akerman, a nurse, 
who gave her life in nursing yellow 
fever victims during the epidemic here 
many years ago. The Citizens’ ceme- 
tery, with some care and expenditure 
of money, would be among the most 
beautiful places in and around Chat- 
tanooga. 
The Confederate cemetery, adjoin- 
ing the Citizens’ cemetery, is where 
3,000 soldiers of the confederacy are 
buried. Of this number only 556 are 
known, and graves of only a very few 
are located. A monument erected by 
the local chapters of the Daughters of 
the Confederacy, at a cost of $3,500, 
stands on an eminence in the ceme- 
tery. On the monument is inscribed; 
“Our Confederate Dead.” A stone 
wall and stone arch were also erected 
by the U. D. of C. The late Col. A. 
P. Stuart dedicated the arch on its 
completion some years ago. 
A monument to Col. James Burch 
Cooke, of the Fifty-ninth Tennessee 
infantry, C. S. A., is one of the few 
markers in the cemetery. Another 
monument, standing fourteen feet high, 
bears the inscription “John T. Walker, 
traversed by wide graveled w'alks, 
and the graves are neatly kept. No- 
ticeable among the monuments is one 
erected in memory of Joseph Wass- 
man, an ex-mayor of Chattanooga, 
whose death occurred in this city in 
1909. 
The western part of the National 
Cemetery was acciuired July 14, 1870, 
by the United States from Robert M. 
POINT HOTEL AND MOCCASIN BEND FROM POINT LOOKOUT. 
View of Seven States May be Had from Here. 
Lieut. 13 S. C., Co. K. Palmetto Sharp- 
shooters.” 
The Confederate cemetery has an 
interesting history as related by Mrs. 
Mary Fry, a member of the Ladies’ 
Memorial society. It was a wild 
waste twenty years ago, according to 
this zealous worker in the memorial 
society. The late Col. Fry made an 
address at the cemetery at this time, 
standing among briars and bushes. It 
is said that Mrs. John L. Divine is the 
only living member of the original 
memorial association organized in 
1866. 
The ground on which the cemetery 
is located is given as two and one- 
third acres. The land was purchased 
from Mr. Gardenhire at a cost of 
$150. As the Memorial association 
was not chartered, the deed was made 
to John M. L. French, Dr. Stuart and 
George L. Brown, as trustees. These 
men are now dead. The cemetery is 
now in charge of the local chapters 
of the U. D. C,, but they have no 
deed to the property. 
The Jewish Cemetery, which is 
owned by Mizpah Temple congrega- 
tion, is only separated from the Con- 
federate Cemetery by a stone wall. 
The Jewish Cemetery contains only 
one and one-half acres. There are 
about 300 graves. It is one of the 
city’s best kept burial spots. It is 
Hooke. This tract of land comprises 
about 100 acres. The eastern portion 
was a part of the Joseph Ruohs prop- 
erty, and was acquired by condemna- 
tion in the United States district 
court. There are 13,526 graves in the 
cemetery. Of this number 4,974 are 
unknown. Enclosed within the stone 
wall is a total of about seventy-five 
acres. Without the wall there is a 
tract of about fifty-five acres which 
the government has deeded to the 
city for use as a park. This is known 
as Jackson Park. George E. James 
is the superintendent of the cemetery, 
having come to the city about two 
years ago from North Carolina to 
take charge of it. 
Mt. Olivet Cemetery, the ground 
set apart by the Roman Catholic 
Church for the burial of the dead, 
was deeded to J. Rademacher, bishop- 
of Nashville, in 1886, by decree of the 
chancery court of Bradley County. 
This property was a tract of land 
from the Caloway estate. Father 
Ryan, wdio died here during the yel- 
low' fever epidemic, is buried at Mt. 
Olivet. The body of Mark O’Brien 
rests in the family vault there. Among 
the family monuments is the Cotter 
monument, that of the Casey family, 
the Cahill, the Dietzen, the McMahon, 
the Crimmins, the monument to the 
father of Judge IMartin Fleming and 
