A new National Park Service report highlights how Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park proved to be goldmine for the community in 2021.
Data shows 945,390 visitors frequented the park last year, spending $61,521,000 in communities near the park, according to a June 24 news release. Further analysis details how spending supported 881 jobs in the local area, amounting to a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $78,685,000.
“National parks are a vital part of our nation’s economy, especially for park gateway communities where millions of visitors each year find a place to sleep and eat, hire outfitters and guides and make use of other local services that help drive a vibrant tourism and outdoor recreation industry,” Superintendent Brad Bennett said in the news release. “At Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, we are excited to share the story of this place and the experiences it provides. We also feature the park as a way to introduce our visitors to this part of the country and all that it offers.”
The visitor numbers are a slight increase from 2018, when 945,961 people visited Chickamauga and Chattanooga, and spending in communities near the park was less at $55,839,000, supporting 837 jobs in the local area, according to a 2019 news release. This had a slightly less cumulative benefit to the local economy of $69,247,000.
According to the NPS, 10,000 Union and Confederate veterans descended on Chickamauga Battlefield in September 1889 as "reunited countrymen." Known as the Blue and Gray BBQ, the idea advanced the growing call for a national park. By 1890, the battlefields of Chickamauga and Chattanooga became the nation’s first official military park.
President Benjamin Harrison signed the designation into law Aug. 19, 1890, five years before such status was bestowed on Gettysburg and 26 years before the establishment of the National Park Service.
