With its stone facing, the Lookout Mountain Elementary School at 321 North Bragg Avenue blends in almost seamlessly with many of the other homes and churches on the mountain.
Different from most of the other Hamilton County schools that are brick or (in the case of those from the mid-20th century) feature plenty of multi-paned glass windows, the school has also distinguished itself educationally as a Tennessee Reward School.
As we look at the history of this school that is praised inside and out, a glance at some old newspaper articles reveals that the building is not too far from being 100 years old. Actually, as the school states on its logo, LMS dates to 1878.
According to a pamphlet history written about the school and Lookout Mountain in 2003 by the late former student Dyer Butterfield Jr., a small red school building with two classrooms was used as the first school. It was at what is now the southwest corner of Forrest Avenue and Scenic Highway.
The Town of Lookout Mountain operated the school in those days, and, in 1900, a nice structure using stone from the same quarry as that used for the Point Park entrance and for some homes by the top of the Incline Railway was completed on Bragg Avenue. It was located just south of where the original part of the current school was built but was torn down when the new school was built.
At the time, Lookout Mountain Presbyterian Church was located where the original part of the current school is. By the 1920s, as the mountain and student populations were growing, a white house across Bragg Avenue was purchased and used for additional school space for a period. It was called the Annex.
But the school population continued to grow. After an unfortunate fire in January 1928 burned the Lookout Mountain Presbyterian Church to the ground, all parties agreed to a swap of the church land and the school land. As a result, a new Lookout Mountain Presbyterian that is part of the current church campus was built across Bragg Avenue.
The old church land was given to the Hamilton County School Board, which had taken over the operation of Lookout Mountain Elementary in 1927, a time when seventh- and eighth-graders were being phased out.
Plans were made for a new main school on the old church property, so the current stone school with an eye-catching vertical design in the front was opened for the 1929-30 school year. To help ensure a building of the highest quality, the Town of Lookout Mountain also agreed to pay any costs over the county’s pledge, with hopes of eventually being refunded. In case you are wondering, the school was built in the late 1920s for between $50,000 and $100,000, which would probably not even get you a single classroom today.
The original 1929 school building featured eight rooms, an auditorium, a cafeteria, a library, and several auxiliary rooms.
The architect was Chattanoogan Clarence T. Jones, whose other still-standing works include the former YWCA building by Lindsay and Eighth streets, the Industrial YMCA building off Mitchell Avenue and recently remodeled into Common House Chattanooga, the National Guard Armory off Holtzclaw Avenue, and the observatory now bearing his name by Brainerd Road and Tuxedo Avenue.
On Lookout Mountain, he also designed for newspaper publisher and hotel operator J.B. Pound the Mediterranean-style and now-razed Stonedge home, where some condominiums were later built. Known for his direct manner in conversation before his untimely 1951 death of heart problems after a fall down some steps at the Warner Park Pool, the former Centenary Methodist Church member’s buildings were also known for their rather straightforward, but eye-pleasing, appeal.
Among later changes to the school, a memorial gymnasium addition was also made on the south end of the school in 1949, and these additional amenities included uniquely a skating rink operated by the Town of Lookout Mountain.
The school continued to shine architecturally and educationally, it also did in terms of social conscience. While a school for Black students in the days of segregation had been on Lookout Mountain for years (one was built at Watauga Lane, Lincoln Street and Sprayner Terrace using the stone from the previous school), according to Mr. Butterfield’s history, the Chattanooga and Hamilton County school systems were to desegregate grades 1-3 in 1962.
In what was a thoughtful and well-planned action that included encouragement for desegregation/integration by such business leaders as W.E. Brock Jr. and the placing of an armed policeman at every school to prevent potential protesters, the plan was successful. And Lookout Mountain Elementary was in the forefront, as it and the also-still-operating Hixson Elementary were the only two previously white-only county schools that saw the enrollment of Black students.
Some 14 Black children attended both schools combined that first week, and an old newspaper photo shows two black male adults in business suits holding the hands of a daughter and son coming into school amidst the backdrop of the school’s familiar stone siding.
The old stone walls of Lookout Mountain Elementary have witnessed quite a bit of history, including in the more than 60 years since, and LMS students continue to learn evolving history and other core subjects inside the building in a way that continues to draw praise.
And so does the classic building architecturally among historic preservationists and others with a nostalgic bent.
by John Shearer
Different from most of the other Hamilton County schools that are brick or (in the case of those from the mid-20th century) feature plenty of multi-paned glass windows, the school has also distinguished itself educationally as a Tennessee Reward School.
As we look at the history of this school that is praised inside and out, a glance at some old newspaper articles reveals that the building is not too far from being 100 years old. Actually, as the school states on its logo, LMS dates to 1878.
According to a pamphlet history written about the school and Lookout Mountain in 2003 by the late former student Dyer Butterfield Jr., a small red school building with two classrooms was used as the first school. It was at what is now the southwest corner of Forrest Avenue and Scenic Highway.
The Town of Lookout Mountain operated the school in those days, and, in 1900, a nice structure using stone from the same quarry as that used for the Point Park entrance and for some homes by the top of the Incline Railway was completed on Bragg Avenue. It was located just south of where the original part of the current school was built but was torn down when the new school was built.
At the time, Lookout Mountain Presbyterian Church was located where the original part of the current school is. By the 1920s, as the mountain and student populations were growing, a white house across Bragg Avenue was purchased and used for additional school space for a period. It was called the Annex.
But the school population continued to grow. After an unfortunate fire in January 1928 burned the Lookout Mountain Presbyterian Church to the ground, all parties agreed to a swap of the church land and the school land. As a result, a new Lookout Mountain Presbyterian that is part of the current church campus was built across Bragg Avenue.
The old church land was given to the Hamilton County School Board, which had taken over the operation of Lookout Mountain Elementary in 1927, a time when seventh- and eighth-graders were being phased out.
Plans were made for a new main school on the old church property, so the current stone school with an eye-catching vertical design in the front was opened for the 1929-30 school year. To help ensure a building of the highest quality, the Town of Lookout Mountain also agreed to pay any costs over the county’s pledge, with hopes of eventually being refunded. In case you are wondering, the school was built in the late 1920s for between $50,000 and $100,000, which would probably not even get you a single classroom today.
The original 1929 school building featured eight rooms, an auditorium, a cafeteria, a library, and several auxiliary rooms.
The architect was Chattanoogan Clarence T. Jones, whose other still-standing works include the former YWCA building by Lindsay and Eighth streets, the Industrial YMCA building off Mitchell Avenue and recently remodeled into Common House Chattanooga, the National Guard Armory off Holtzclaw Avenue, and the observatory now bearing his name by Brainerd Road and Tuxedo Avenue.
On Lookout Mountain, he also designed for newspaper publisher and hotel operator J.B. Pound the Mediterranean-style and now-razed Stonedge home, where some condominiums were later built. Known for his direct manner in conversation before his untimely 1951 death of heart problems after a fall down some steps at the Warner Park Pool, the former Centenary Methodist Church member’s buildings were also known for their rather straightforward, but eye-pleasing, appeal.
Among later changes to the school, a memorial gymnasium addition was also made on the south end of the school in 1949, and these additional amenities included uniquely a skating rink operated by the Town of Lookout Mountain.
The school continued to shine architecturally and educationally, it also did in terms of social conscience. While a school for Black students in the days of segregation had been on Lookout Mountain for years (one was built at Watauga Lane, Lincoln Street and Sprayner Terrace using the stone from the previous school), according to Mr. Butterfield’s history, the Chattanooga and Hamilton County school systems were to desegregate grades 1-3 in 1962.
In what was a thoughtful and well-planned action that included encouragement for desegregation/integration by such business leaders as W.E. Brock Jr. and the placing of an armed policeman at every school to prevent potential protesters, the plan was successful. And Lookout Mountain Elementary was in the forefront, as it and the also-still-operating Hixson Elementary were the only two previously white-only county schools that saw the enrollment of Black students.
Some 14 Black children attended both schools combined that first week, and an old newspaper photo shows two black male adults in business suits holding the hands of a daughter and son coming into school amidst the backdrop of the school’s familiar stone siding.
The old stone walls of Lookout Mountain Elementary have witnessed quite a bit of history, including in the more than 60 years since, and LMS students continue to learn evolving history and other core subjects inside the building in a way that continues to draw praise.
And so does the classic building architecturally among historic preservationists and others with a nostalgic bent.
by John Shearer
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