Dixieland Part 10.....

Our final full day in the Deep South found us heading back to Atlanta stopping at Lynchburg on the way,

where we looked round the town square

enjoying the quaint shops

and lovely buildings

even managing to pose on the veranda before heading off to the place we stopped in Lynchburg to see

 The Jack Daniels Distillery -the oldest registered distillery in the U.S.

It's where Jack first crafted the recipe for Old No.7.  It's where the pure, iron-free cave spring water flows.

Jack's statue outside the entrance to the spring

Inside the cave

It's where every drop of Jack Daniel's Tennessee Sipin' Whiskey is still made today.

The tour of the distillery was really interesting and the smell of the whiskey was very inviting.  Unfortunately, all you are allowed to do is SMELL the whiskey because Lynchburg is located in Moore County, Tennessee which is officially a 'dry county', that means no alcoholic beverages may be sold within Moore County and we weren't allowed even a taste!    The distillery is permitted to sell special collector bottles of whiskey only to tourists from outside the county but they were really expensive and as we're not collectors and just wanted to drink it we didn't bother buying any.

Continuing our journey our next stop was Chattanooga to see this..

The first Chattanooga Choo Choo Train was Cincinnati Southern Railroad's small wood burning steam locomotive that started its journey through history from Cincinnati, Ohio on March 5, 1880.   Nearly all trains travelling to the South passed through Chattanooga.  the wood burning "Choo Choo was the first to provide none-stop service.

A news paper reporter dubbed the huffing and puffing little steam locomotive the Chattanooga Choo Choo.  Although the Chattanooga's Terminal Station was significant in its role of the train era with it's 'Track 29', little was known about the first Chattanooga Choo Choo.   Only after Glen Miller's orchestra made the catchy song popular in the later 1940's did the name become world famous.

The train resides at the Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel, which was the terminal station in downtown Chattanooga.

On December 1st 1909 the first train pulled into the station and the depot grew to serve nearly 50 passenger trains a day.   Over the years the bustling terminal greeted Presidents Woodrow Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Roosevelt.   Passenger train traffic slowed to a halt in the 1960's with the dominance of auto and air travel and railway activity was replaced by these faster modes of transportation.   Almost 61 years after the opening, the grand old building was closed to the public when the last train stopped on August 11th 1970.   The Terminal Station seemed destined for the similar fate of Union Station but it was saved by a group of local businessmen who were inspired by the theme of the "Chattanooga Choo Choo" investing $4million, and the beautiful Terminal Station once again opened its doors to welcome visitors to Chattanooga on April 11th 1973 as a unique vacation complex.   The Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Leaving Chattanooga behind we headed towards Atlanta, where our tour of the South started, to spend our last night staying at the Hotel Midtown Atlanta again.   We were sad that our wonderful holiday was coming to an end but looking forward to what our final day had to offer - a tour of the World of Coca Cola and the 'Road To Tara'.   I hope you'll join me for my final post about our tour of the South Dixieland Part 11.


Read Dixieland Part 1 here
Read Dixieland Part 2 here
Read Dixieland Part 3 here
Read Dixieland Part 4 here
Read Dixieland Part 5 here
Read Dixieland Part 6 here
Read Dixieland Part 7 here
Read Dixieland Part 8 here
Read Dixieland Part 9 here