After years of ongoing efforts to save the threatened Brown’s Ferry Tavern, the historic structure is now owned and protected by National Park Partners! Federal and state battlefield protection grants were assembled to acquire the Tavern, built in 1803, and about nine acres of surrounding land along Brown’s Ferry Road in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Also protected is the site of the 1863 Battle of Brown’s Ferry along the Tennessee River.

Brown’s Ferry Tavern is the oldest standing structure in Chattanooga, erected prior to the city’s foundation. Established by John Brown, a prominent Cherokee businessman, the site’s narrative is complex, with important American Indian and Civil War history embedded in 200+years of existence. Following his family’s forced removal from the land on the Trail of Tears, Brown returned to the site, which is now included on the National Register of Historic Places and is located along the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail. 

After Brown’s ownership, the property also served as an important witness to the October 27 Battle of Brown’s Ferry, which opened the vital “Cracker Line” or food supply for U.S. Army forces during the battles of Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge. With their supply line reopened, Union forces reclaimed lost territory in Chattanooga and eventually forged further south into Georgia. For the next 150 years, the Tavern and surrounding land lay mostly undisturbed until development pressure presented a very real threat to destroying the history and legacy of this land. Local businessman and preservationist Bill Chapin played a major role in the preservation of the property, providing interim ownership and easing the pressure while the American Battlefield Trust assembled the grants needed for acquisition.

However, the American Battlefield Trust exists to preserve battlefields and turn them over to a government or non-profit entity to own and manage. Without an identified long term owner, the Trust would not initiate the purchase; the National Park Service and other entities that were approached were not in a position to commit to ownership at the time. Brown’s Ferry Tavern and the surrounding land contains such a dynamic and varied history that when the American Battlefield Trust approached National Park Partners about becoming the eventual stewards of the property, the answer was clear. 

“While outside the boundary of Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, we knew the property was incredibly significant to the interpretation of the Civil War Campaign for Chattanooga and to the Indigenous history of our area,” says executive director Tricia Mims. “Our Board of Directors deliberated long and hard about taking this on, but ultimately, the alternative of not having the property preserved forever was inconceivable. We knew we had to step up to ensure this incredible piece of American history would not slip away.” Following the permanent protection of both the Tavern and Battle of Brown’s Ferry sites through conservation easements, the properties were transferred to National Park Partners.

Since 2019, many educational programs have taken place, with learners of all ages including the neighboring Lookout Valley Elementary School and the Chattanooga Area Historical Association. We appreciate all the gratitude expressed to us by the Lookout Valley/Tiftonia area residents who are thrilled that this focal point of their community’s history will forever be protected.

Across the Tennessee River from the Brown’s Ferry landing, the National Park Service maintains the Brown’s Ferry/Federal Road Trace hiking trail across Moccasin Bend, following the “Cracker Line” and Trail of Tears routes. Home to 12,000 years of Indigenous habitation, Moccasin Bend is the country’s only National Archeological District and is the focus of a major National Park Partners campaign called Forever Moccasin Bend. The first phase of the campaign, called Open the Gateway, will establish a welcoming entrance to Moccasin Bend and for the first time, offer a parking area with restrooms; an interpretive display with orientation to the site’s trails and history; and an accessible walkway leading to a covered pavilion near the Tennessee River where National Park Rangers, Tribal leaders, and others can offer programming that shares the legacy of Moccasin Bend with locals and visitors alike.