Catoosa History Timeline

1800

most of the area of Georgia north and west of the Chattahoochee River (including now Catoosa County) comprised the Cherokee Nation.

1805

Under a treaty with the Cherokees, the U.S. Government began construction of a rudimentary road through the Cherokee Nation from Athens, GA to Brainerd. This road passed through what is now Catoosa County from near the now Whitfield/Catoosa line on Highway 2A, to near Old Stone Church through the Gap at Ringgold, through the now intersection of Boynton Drive & Alabama Highway, then northeast to near the junction of Highway 41 & Battlefield Parkway, on to near the present intersection of US 41 and Pine Grove Road, over the ridge, and west near where the dragstrip is currently located.

1819

President James Madison passes through present day Catoosa County, travelling on the Federal Road

1831

Area of Cherokee Nation formally declared to be Cherokee County, GA. The following year, that portion of now Catoosa County was declared to be within Murray County and the following year this area was made a part of Walker County

1833

Cherokee Land Lottery conducted for the purpose of redistributing land in the former Cherokee Nation to White settlers and opening the area up to White settlement

1838

U.S. troops, prompted by the state of Georgia, expelled the Cherokee Indians from their ancestral homeland in Georgia (including present-day Catoosa County) and removed them to the Indian Territory in what is now Oklahoma. The voyage of these refugees became known as “The Trail of Tears”

1847

The City of Ringgold is incorporated

1849

Western & Atlantic Railroad completed by the State of Georgia through present day Catoosa County, connecting Atlanta and Chattanooga

Graysville named for John D. Gray, railroad builder & industrialist 

1850

Catoosa Springs Hotel, cottages and resort established

1853

Catoosa County is created from portions of Walker and Whitfield Counties.

1860

Population in Catoosa County was 5,792 including 710 enslaved people

1865

War Comes to Catoosa County (see separate timeline)

1866

Effort begins to remove Confederate war dead to Marietta, Georgia from burial sites in Catoosa County

1870

Population in Catoosa County was 4,409

1871

Southern Claims Commission formed to receive claims from loyal Unionists in the South who had provided goods and services to the Union Army

1877

Former Vice-President of the Confederacy Alexander Stephens, then serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, prior to becoming Georgia’s 50th governor, vacations at Catoosa Springs

1880

Population in Catoosa County was 4,739

1890

Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park established by Congress. Boynton Community named for Union General Henry V. Boynton

Population in Catoosa County was 5,431

1891

President Benjamin Harrison passes through Ringgold by train and is honored with a 26 -gun salute 

1895

The Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park is dedicated, becoming the first such park in the nation

1898

Camp Thomas established by the U.S. Army within Chickamauga Park to organize and train soldiers preparing for deployment in the Spanish-American War

1900

Population in Catoosa County was 5,823 (equal to the population in 1860)

1902

The U.S. Army begins construction of an Army Post north of Chickamauga Park

President Theodore Roosevelt visits Chickamauga Battlefield on September 7th

1904

The new Army Post is named Fort Oglethorpe in honor of James Oglethorpe, founder and first Governor of Georgia

1906

The Catoosa Target Range is established as an adjunct training facility for Fort Oglethorpe

1910

Population in Catoosa County was 7,184

1915

The Dixie Highway, connecting Rossville-Fort Oglethorpe and Ringgold completed in November

1917

Captain and future General and President Dwight Eisenhower is assigned to Fort Oglethorpe.

1918

Camp Greenleaf established at Fort Oglethorpe to train medical officers

Enemy Alien and Prisoner of War camp established at Fort Oglethorpe (WW I)

1920

General John J. “Black Jack” Pershing, commander of U.S. Forces during WW I, visits Fort Oglethorpe on February 19th

Work began in November on new section of the Dixie Highway from Ringgold to the Tennessee State Line

Population in Catoosa County was 6,677

1927

Lake Winnepesaukah Amusement Park opens

1930

Population in Catoosa County was 9,421

1940

Population in Catoosa County was 12,199

1943

Women’s Army Corps (WAC) training camp established at Fort Oglethorpe in January

German prisoner of war camp established at Fort Oglethorpe in March

Phase two

President Franklin D. Roosevelt reviews WAC’s at Fort Oglethorpe on April 17th

1946

The U.S. Army Post Fort Oglethorpe is decommissioned on December 31st

1949

The City of Fort Oglethorpe incorporated, taking the name of the inactive U.S. Army Post

1950

Population in Catoosa County was 15,146

1956

The Walt Disney movie “The Great Locomotive Chase” premiers, featuring events in Catoosa County

1960

Population in Catoosa County was 21,101

1961-1964

Construction of Interstate 75 through Catoosa County

1969-1972

Construction of Georgia Hwy 2-A, later named Battlefield Parkway

1970

Population in Catoosa County was 28,271

1980

Population in Catoosa County was 36,991

1990

Population in Catoosa County was 42,464

2000

Population in Catoosa County was 53,282

2002

On March 14th a massive pile-up on I-75 near Boynton Drive caused by fog involves 125 vehicles and claims 4 killed and 39 injured

Vice President Dick Cheney visits Chickamauga Battlefield on October 24th

2003

Vice President Cheney visits Chickamauga Battlefield a second time on September 22nd

2010

Population of Catoosa County was 63,942

2011

On April 27th, an EF-4 Tornado roared through Ringgold and Cherokee Valley claiming 9 lives, injuring many, and causing millions of dollars in property damage

2020

Population of Catoosa County was 67,872