CHILHOWEE PARK

by Ron Allen

Chilhowee Park has been in existence for well over a century, but in earlier times it was known under several other names. Originally, the lake and the park were established by F. C. Beaman, who earlier had established a school, the Huckleberry Springs Institute, in east Knox County. Beaman bought the property from Alex McMillan, built his home near what became the entrance to the park, created the lake he called Beaman's Lake, and opened the park, first known as Beaman's Park in the middle 1880's. Public entertainments and holiday celebrations were held at the park. Local newspaper advertisements and articles reported that those activities at Beaman's Park were well attended by the public in 1887.

By 1888, the name of the park (or a portion thereof) was called Elmwood Park, although the lake continued to be called Beaman's Lake. Most evidence seems to indicate that the section known as Elmwood Park was in the area south of what later became Magnolia Avenue, and north of McCalla. By the late 1880's, investors from Knoxville and Kentucky acquired 400 acres of land at the site. The company was named the Knoxville Lake Park Springs company, and for a brief period the park was known as Lake Park Springs and the name of the lake was briefly changed to Lake Como. On April 19, 1890, the Journal reported that at a meeting of the board of directors the company had changed the lake name to Lake Ottosee. That same article details the additions and improvements that were to be made at the park, including the construction of a large hotel, Chinese pagodas at the different mineral springs on the property, and grand boulevard around the lake. (The hotel was never built.)

The fact that section south of what now is Magnolia was already known as Elmwood Park is evident in accounts published in local newspapers during those times. Reports of simultaneous holiday celebrations in 1889 had referred to those activities as having been held both at "Beaman's Lake and Elmwood Park". By 1890, local papers reported that simultaneous July Fourth celebrations had been held, one at Lake Ottosee, for the white population, and another at Elmwood Park, where the colored population "had a friendly slugging match and picnic, closing with a nighttime dance". Such reports make it obvious that at that time the area was known as Lake Ottosee, while in the immediately adjoining section, was known as Elmwood Park. F. C. Beaman apparently still owned the southern section in 1894, when local newspapers reported his attempts to persuade the local professional baseball team, the Knoxville Reds, to locate their home field at Elmwood Park, were unsuccessful. Around that same time, the attempt to entice the promoters of the annual Drummer's picnic to the Lake Ottosee park also failed, when that group instead selected the Fountain City Park for that year's site.

The fact that the African American population participated in the activities at Chilhowee Park, at least at selected times, is verified through a local newspaper report in 1896, when an article in the Journal mentions that colored patrons were permitted into the park to ride the Shoot the Chute attraction every Saturday, between 2 PM and 10 PM.

By 1898, the electric car line could carry more than one thousand people to Chilhowee Park, with fifteen cars in operation. The name of the Lake Ottosee was changed to Lake Chilhowie in June, 1898, and the name of the park became Chilhowie Park. A new three story pavilion was built. Other improvements soon included one hundred swings, a skating rink, a theater that seated more people than any other Knoxville theater, an enlarged bowling alley, and a new attraction called the Gravity Road, a merry-go-round, and a new bicycle track.

During the Spanish American War, a camp for soldiers called Camp Bob Taylor, named for the Tennessee Governor, was established at Chiohowie Park, on September 20, 1899. The name "Chilhowie" continued until around July, 1899, when the spelling was changed to "Chihowee" In early October, 1898, the Journal reported that C. C. Howell had produced "a magnificent pen and ink drawing of Chilhowee Park". The original drawing was on exhibit in the lobby of the Imperial Hotel, and the article mentioned that ten thousand lithograph copies of the drawing were to be made and distributed throughout the United States. (I've been unable to locate a single copy of that lithographic view of Chilhowee Park anywhere today, causing me to wonder if they were actually ever produced.) The city's first golf course, established on Highland Avenue and originally called the Highland Avenue Golf Club, moved to a new location in the summer of 1899, one hundred yards west of Chilhowee Park, where it was now called the Highland golf links. By early 1899, the Chilhowie military camp had been abandoned. Among the activities in connection with the downtown street fair in 1899, a fox chase was held at Chilhowee Park. The Edison Electric Company was showing moving pictures at Chilhowee Park in September, 1905.

Fairs were held in Knoxville as early as 1854, and at various other times during the nineteenth century, but none were held specifically at the Chilhowee Park site. In 1897, a Knox County Fair was held during the week of September 20, at the Knox County Fair Association's race track grounds on Rutledge Pike, east of Lake Ottosee That site was remodeled and renamed the East Tennessee Fair Grounds in August, 1898, when another five day Fair was held at the same location, east of what then was called Chilhowie Park. In both instances, those "Fairs" consisted primarily of horse racing events. A similar Fair was held at the race track site during the week of September 21-26, again horse races held at the same track, then called the Speedway.

Chilhowee Park was the site of the Appalachian Expositions in the early twentieth century, when again one of the major attractions was horse racing, again held at the race track east of the park, Speedway Circle, owned then by local black entrepreneur Cal Johnson. The larger National Conservation Exposition was held at the park in 1913. In July, 1913, prior to the opening of the Exposition, a new auditorium with a seating capacity of two thousand persons was added as an annex to the large structure known then as the Land Building. That entire building later burned and was replaced with the present administration building.

A playing field, with a grandstand, was located at Chilhowee Park, in the section south of Magnolia originally known as Elmwood Park. Baseball games and football games were played at the site. The Tennessee Volunteers played their game against the University of Kentucky at Chilhowee Park on November 19, 1907. It was also the site of football games played by local teams including Knoxville High School and Central High School. During the National Conservation Exposition in the fall of 1913, the name of the field was changed to Exposition Stadium, when high school football games were played at the site. On September 13, 1913, the Knoxville Reds, of the Appalachian League, played a baseball game against Atlanta, the Southern League champions, at the Chilhowee Park field.

The name of the park was changed to Sterchi Park around 1926. City directories list the park under that name from 1927 through 1933, then the name was changed back to Chilhowee Park. Over the years, the park has included many facilities. Besides the playing field for baseball and football games, among other facilities have been a roller coaster, a skating rink, a bowling alley, indoor and outdoor theaters, a miniature railroad, a dance pavilion, and other attractions. For many years, also available at the park were permanent attractions that were particularly appealing to generations of youngsters, the midway rides, including a Ferris Wheel, Dodgems, and a large swing attraction. Those rides were located in the section south of the lake and north of Magnolia. Children could find a place of excitement and relatively cheap entertainment at Chilhowee Park during those years. During Fair week each fall, those attractions were in competition with the large array of larger midway rides and sideshows that were in operation on the south side of Magnolia, where the playing field was located. It is unfortunate that local youngsters were robbed of those attractions at Chilhowee Park when the city decided years ago to dismantle and eliminate the popular midway rides at Chilhowee Park.

Much has changed at Chilhowee Park during the past fifty years. Most activity today is in the eastern section, where the administration building is located, and in the enlarged northern section, at the zoo. Aside from the activities during the annual Fair week, the western section of the original park, where the permanent midway rides, concession stands, and the other attractions once stood, essentially is unused today. If anything much goes on today in the section originally called Elmwood Park, between Magnolia and M. L. King Blvd. (McCalla), I'm not aware of it. The primary continuing attraction at the park is now the zoo, which has been greatly expanded and is a first class operation, particularly when compared to its modest and frankly rather seedy appearance in its early days.

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