Old Money, New South: The Spirit of Chattanooga

by Dean W. Arnold, Andrew Wilker, Justin Cox

John T. Lupton, the godfather of Coca-Cola bottling, and Harry Scott Probasco, founder of the “Coca-Cola bank,” guided Chattanoooga, Tennessee, with a quiet but powerful hand for decades. Generations later, the names Lupton and Probasco—and a handful of intermarried families—continue to form a controversial web of leadership for the city.This strategic crossroads through the mountains is the scene of ancient warpaths, the launching of the Trail of Tears, the greatest two-day battle in American history, and the founding of the world’s most popular product. From its religious and progressive tension to its cryptic, indigenous name, Chattanooga proves to be an enigma at every turn.“Chattanooga is a money town . . . more of a controlled city,” says Walter Williams, the town’s first elected African American judge, who contrasts this New South city with its neighbors —Atlanta, Nashville, and Birmingham. The judge points to Chattanooga’s prominent families as a unique feature. “Names run it now [and] clearly in the past ran Chattanooga,” he says.A Northern elite joined Southern families to create a modern aristocracy of sorts that lingers to this day. Chattanooga arguably gave more philanthropic dollars than any other city in the South during the 20th century. Thanks to a number of fortunes, including several amassed by bottling Coca-Cola (a concept started by Chattanoogans), the city now boasts three of the nation’s most prestigious prep schools, one of the largest Christian foundations in the world, and, in the past century, perhaps the most concentrated wealth in a few hands in any town, anywhere.Those families, who today live primarily on Lookout Mountain, were forged into a benevolent force by the unusually strong presence of the Presbyterian church. Worldly wealth is important not only for saving souls, but also for improving the community on this side of heaven, they were told. Meanwhile, those in “the valley” struggle to interpret the actions of their prominent neighbors as positive rather than paternalistic or even self-dealing. As the influence of Presbyterianism declines, the community looks for other solutions to bridge the gap between Mountain and Valley.Journalist Dean Arnold provides a portrait of this extraordinary Southern city through interviewing fifty of its leaders, personalities, politicians, and prominent family members. He also weaves a number of historical insights from the Civil War to the Trail of Tears (launched from Chattanooga) to ancient Indian settlements and discussions on the meaning of “Chattanooga.” All this, along with the engaging conversational style, helps to make Old Money, New South: The Spirit of Chattanooga an enjoyable and enlightening read.

Genres: History

652 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 28, 2009

Reviews

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good friend gave me this book, knowing I would like it. I live in northwest Georgia, about 35 miles from Chattanooga. My father worked in Chattanooga; my mother took her nurse's training there, I lived there for 4 years while in college at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. I was born in a hospital there. Our newspaper and local TV channels are out of Chattanooga, so it's been a big part of my life. I didn't read this book straight through--I read a couple of chapters, then set it aside to read some other things and came back to it. I really enjoyed reading about the city and the people who made it--who I've heard about all my life. My daddy worked in construction and talked about Tommy Lupton a lot. He admired him. Members of my family have worked at Rock City and know some of the Chapins. Some of the buildings at my university bare the names of many of those mentioned in the book. I really enjoyed reading this look at the history of Chattanooga.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book as I moved to Chattanooga, and was fascinated by the interplay of the old families in my new home. Of interest was the fact that so many of them had had interactions with our new church. The book is interesting, full of anecdotes and easy to read; it is a bit repetitive in parts, and most notably suffers from its failure to include interviews with the matriarchs of some of these families. (A couple of women in our church would have made valuable contributions, I'm sure!) The author sticks to businessmen exclusively as his main interviewees. Still, I enjoyed the read and felt that it gave me some good background information on understanding my new home.

Even if you don't live in and may never visit Chattanooga, I think you might enjoy this book if you are interested in local histories, philanthropy (a major theme), and urban re-development (Chattanooga has been completely remade in the last twenty years, and has gone from being the most polluted city in the nation to a truly beautiful place to live).

[Brooke Maedel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating look into the founding and growth of my adopted home town. Got bogged down in some sections but am glad I stuck with it. Recommend for all Chattanoogans!