Lookout Mountain, TN

Phil Busscher and Ellie Lamaire, of Holland, Mich., ride the Incline Railway for the first time on one of their many visits to Chattanooga.
Phil Busscher and Ellie Lamaire, of Holland, Mich., ride the Incline Railway for the first time on one of their many visits to Chattanooga.

Its very friendly like a small town. We have an awardwinning school, Lookout Mountain Elementary School, and we have a safe community. Carol Mutter, mayor and 23

Location: Atop Lookout Mountain, just west of downtown Chattanooga

Population: 1,826

Geographic area: Lookout Mountain is a nearly 100-mile-long extenuation of the Cumberland Plateau, south of the Tennessee River.

Date founded: 1890

Landmarks: Ruby Falls, one of the nation's deepest caves and largest underground waterfalls accessible to the public, as well as the Incline Railway, the world's steepest passenger railway.

Government: Mayor Carol Mutter heads a town commission form of government with commissioners Joe Hailey, Walker Jones, Ernie Minges and Don Stinnett.

Schools: Lookout Mountain Elementary School is the only public Hamilton County school in the town.

Median household income: $123,409

Most famous residents: Adolph S. Ochs, whose first newspaper was the Chattanooga Times, went on to buy the then-failing New York Times, which he carried to great influence and prosperity. Jack Lupton succeeded his father, Cartter Lupton, as the owner of the world's largest Coca-Cola bottling company. Jack Lupton left a large legacy in Chattanooga as co-founder of the Tennessee Aquarium.

Best-kept secret: Natural Bridge Park, part of the town's earliest history, has rock formations and trails. The area once was the site of a hotel and a nationally recognized spiritualistic campground.

Fun fact: Sunset Rock, now a popular trailhead and tourist stop, was once known as Point Lookout. A visit makes it easy to see why. Confederate Gens. Braxton Bragg and James Longstreet used Sunset Rock as a lookout, tracking the movement of Union troops as they entered Lookout Valley in 1863. It is said the Union troops were able to see them on the rock and decipher the Confederate code. In any case, when the Confederate army attempted to remove the Union forces from the river and block their supply lines in the Battle of Wauhatchie, their attempts were unsuccessful, leading to the Union's siege of Chattanooga.

Sources: www.chattanoogafun.com, www.lookoutmountaintn.org,

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