One of Chattanooga’s oldest and most significant historic communities the Orchard Knob neighborhood is “rooted in Cherokee heritage and deeply tied to the Civil War, [and] the residential area — once a thriving hub for Black professionals — is actively undergoing grassroots revitalization”, according to the neighborhood’s collaborative association.
The Orchard Knob Collaborative was recently formed with a vision to revive the neighborhood and make it healthy, safe, and economically viable. The historic neighborhood extends from McCallie Ave., north to East 3rd Street and sits between North Willow Street and North Holtzclaw Ave.
The neighborhood’s tie to the Civil War can be experienced at Orchard Knob Reservation, the site of an actual Civil War battlefield that is part of the Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park.
According to the National Park’s website, on November 23, 1863, General Ulysses S. Grant led thousands of Union troops to storm into Orchard Knob, which was a Confederate outpost with roughly 600 Confederate soldiers. Overpowered and overwhelmed, the Confederate soldiers were defeated within minutes. The Park Service considers Orchard Knob Reservation one of the best-preserved sites from the Battles for Chattanooga…