Caretaker’s Cabin/Then and Now

This summer I decided to dress up the front of the caretaker’s cabin with a bit of color and warmth.  With a bit of advice from Paola Zannini Craddock, our greenhouse manager, I’ve got a simple but nice flower bed which I hope offers blooms throughout the summer months.

As I’ve learned more about the former caretaker’s that have lived here since the 1950s, I’d like to share a bit of what I’ve heard.  The cabin was built in the 1950s with logs harvested from the property here at the base of Lookout Mountain.  The cabin first served as the caretaker house when Harold and Marie Humphreys made Reflection Riding their home in 1958.  They were very close friends of the Chambliss family who founded Reflection Riding in 1956.  Here is a link to the history of the Humphreys House.  Click on http://chattanooganaturecenter.org/www/docs/138.464/  

I’ve posted a couple of historic photos, one showing John Chambliss standing out front and a black and white photo of ducks on the Upper Pond just across from the cabin. 

Caroline Hudson, granddaughter of Harold and Marie, tells me that throughout the years beautiful flower beds have often dominated the front yard.  There was even a small water feature where water pumped from the existing well house cascaded down a rock ledge which created a shallow pool before trickling into the creek below. 

If you walk past the caretaker’s cabin now the remains of the spring house are still evident, now capped with a rounded shingled roof.  I’ve seen photos made from the Humphreys House that include the caretaker’s cabin but have not see any that show the gardens or flowing spring.  It must have been quite beautiful during the summer months.

Although the former manicured gardens are only a fond memory, the front yard still becomes quite popular among visitors and photographers come August when the Goldenrod and Ironweed are in full bloom.  Hummingbirds can be seen daily darting back and forth like teeny tiny stunt pilots savoring the sweet nectar.  

With this summer’s addition of my modest flowering garden I can only imagine what it must have been like in it’s full glory.

Sunset Rock/A Historical Landmark

When you live at the base of the westward facing slope of Lookout Mountain Sunset Rock is always bearing down on you.  If you have never been there it’s one of my favorite vantage points for viewing Reflection Riding as well as downtown Chattanooga.

Hikers enjoy a recent sunset.

There are plenty of ways to get there.  For the more adventuresome souls, you can begin here at Reflection Riding and use one of our maps to make your way up. It’s a tangled web of trails and old forest roads and takes the average hiker a little over an hour to reach the top.  

When I first became caretaker here at Reflection Riding one of my exercise routines was to walk/jog up Lookout Mountain timing myself each time to the summit.  I’m hardly a trail runner, but I was able to shave 5 minutes off my first attempt and have gotten it down to a respectable 32 minutes.  A self prescribed stress test.  No deductible or copay required. 

Sunset Rock has always been a natural landmark but during the civil war soldiers used it as a vantage point for communication.  A soldier could signal from what is now Candy Flats here at Reflection Riding to another soldier perched atop Sunset Rock.  A horseman would then ride with the decoded message to what is now Point Park where the Battle Above the Clouds was being fought.  It was November of 1863.  Flags were used to signal soldiers during the daylight hours and torches were used at night.  I’ve posted a photo of a civil war reenactor illustrating this technique here on the property last year during the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Lookout Mountain.

A Civil War reenactor signals toward Sunset Rock

I often patrol the property after hours and I always carry a flashlight for security if needed.  Lots of “wildlife” to monitor here at Reflection Riding.  My flashlight is advertised as tactical, holster included, for obvious reasons.  Some might say the brightness could stop a train. 

So, on occasion I too have signaled towards Sunset Rock.  With a series of quick flashes, I’m often able to attract the attention of late night hikers or couples lingering in the romantic twilight.  Oftentimes the signal is repeated back towards me as if we were communicating in morse code.  

I see you. Do you see me?  No special decoding required. 

View of Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center
from Sunset Rock.