Saint Elmo

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Resting at the foot of Lookout Mountain is the St. Elmo National Historic District, Chattanooga’s first bedroom suburb. Its development resulted from the expansion of the electric trolley from the city in 1893 and the construction of Lookout Mountain Incline in 1895.

Outstanding among the early settlers was the Civil War Colonel A.M. Johnson, who subdivided his farm into home lots. He called his second subdivision "St. Elmo" after Augusta J. Evans’ romantic novel of the same name, which depicted scenes from the mountain community.

The St. Elmo district listed more than 600 properties in the National Historic Register in 1982, making it one of the largest such districts in the country. The district includes the unusual listing of Forest Hills Cemetery, which was incorporated in 1880. Originally built as summer homes for wealthy Chattanoogans and homes for the working middle class, the buildings date from the 1880’s and are primarily frame and Victorian in feeling, embracing several of the varied architectural styles of the period.

Six churches, two of wood construction and four of masonry construction still serve the community. St. Elmo today has a strong sense of heritage and is being revitalized by the careful renovations of a cross-section of population.

Glancing back into history, St. Elmo was once the site of the crossroads of two ancient Cherokee Indian trails and home of Daniel Ross, the father of John Ross, principal chief of the Cherokee tribe at the time of the "Trail of Tears," when the Cherokees were removed to Oklahoma. The John Ross home is a National Landmark in nearby Rossville, Georgia.

St. Elmo was designated as a Local Historic District in 1992. This listing protects the character of the neighborhood by ensuring that changes to houses and new construction are compatible with existing architecture.

Lookout Mountain Incline

3917 St. Elmo Avenue. Circa 1986. The first incline station opened in 1895 and brought many tourists to the St. Elmo community. The steepest incline railway in the world operates with new cars that were purchased in 1986. The new station, designed by Terry Barker, is Victorian in feeling and consists of two buildings, one on the ascending side and the other on the descending side of the railway. A gazebo, wide verandahs, paddle fans add gas lights add interest to the waiting spaces. The original station was a three story lookout tower.