Protecting Archaeological District Concern of Stakeholders

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Supporters of preserving Moccasin Bend’s archaeological designation gather at Ruby Falls venue.

By John L. Edwards, III

Former U.S. Congressman Zack Wamp, Sr. expressing that the Moccasin Bend Archaeological District is one of a kind. The only area in the United States designated so. “The truth is, people don’t know what they don’t know, and I think we all share responsibility. We did not do a good enough job explaining to our delegation what in the world is here.”
Erika Dionne Roberts, talented local poet, mesmerizes the audience as she recites a poem she wrote describing the spirit and significance of Moccasin Bend.
Chatt’s own ‘Central Park’ drawing: National Park Partners and officials of the Chattanooga/Chickamauga National Military Park visualize an area similar to New York’s Central Park chronicling 12,000 years of this area’s history.

The National Park Partners and National Park Service held a forum last Thursday at the Skyline Loft at Ruby Falls which overlooks Moccasin Bend.  Local citizens, stakeholders, present and former political leaders packed the large room.

There was joy and applause when Superintendent of Chickamauga/Chattanooga National Military Park Brad Bennett announced the groundbreaking of the new visitor’s center set around mid-October.  But that joy was short lived when news of a State supported plan to replace the old Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute with a new constructed psychiatric hospital on Moccasin Bend, even though the Bend has been designated as a national archaeological site chronicling 12,000 years of this area’s history.

Several historians and former political figures spoke in support of the importance of the archaeological designation including Hamilton County Mayor Westin Wamp.  Mayor Wamp and others suggested locating the hospital somewhere else near other medical facilities instead of the isolated area where the old structure now exists.  Wamp’s father, former U.S. Congressman Zack Wamp who also spoke in support of “Saving the Bend”, which has become the slogan of the movement, was a key figure in securing Moccasin Bend as a National Archaeological District while he served in Congress.

Scott Martin, administrator of Chattanooga Parks and Outdoors talked about the economic value that the Archaeological District would bring to the National Park system and Chattanooga. It is estimated that 250,000 additional tourists will visit the area. Tricia Mims, executive director of National Park Partners, an organization that supports the Chickamauga National Park in preserving artifacts and developing new programs, said Chief Michell Hicks of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians plans to protest the plan to build a hospital on the site.  Mims said of the Cherokee Eastern Band, “They don’t usually go out on a limb like this.”