Turchin Reservation: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, National Park Service

Styles, Sean; Goetcheus, Cari; Hasty, David

The .07 acre Turchin Reservation is a component landscape of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park near Chattanooga, Tennessee. One of a series of detached reservations on Missionary Ridge, it is located adjacent to Crest Road, which runs along the eastern edge of the property and provides public access to the reservation. The Turchin Reservation is significant for its association with the Battle of Missionary Ridge, occurring on November 25, 1863. It is also reflective of the Park Commission’s establishment and development of the first national military park, a period beginning in 1890. The reservation, formerly known as Rathburn Reservation, was originally purchased to commemorate the Ohio troops who fought along Missionary Ridge, yet the site was too small for the planned monument. The reservation was situated by the Park Commission with reference to events of the battle; unlike the other reservations along the west side of Crest Road, this commemorative landscape was designed without reference to the battle-era landform. The historic landscape was regraded in 1904, filled, and a retaining wall constructed to create a level extension of Crest Road. Changes to the commemorative landscape continued after management was transferred to the National Park Service in 1933. Today, the reservation is characterized by a flat grassy sward surrounded on three sides (north, south, and west) by a stone retaining wall with hammer dressed coping and iron pipe guard rail. Adjacent to the south-facing wall and outside NPS property, stone steps descend to a flat area below the retaining wall. The reservation contains two mounted cannon and a single marker. The only substantial change to the reservation since the commemorative design was created is the loss of views to the City of Chattanooga and Lookout Mountain. Privately owned slopes below the reservation have allowed reforestation to occur obscuring the historic views which were envisioned by the Park Commission to remain open. The vegetation has been largely cleared from immediately adjacent to the retaining wall. Only one small mimosa remains that could impact the integrity of the wall. A 20'-wide swath of vegetation remains in place west (downslope) of the property. While it is lower in height than during the 1990s site visits, it still blocks views towards Chattanooga.

Turchin Reservation: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, National Park Service

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