The Well

Although there are no formal boundaries for neighborhoods in Chattanooga, in local vernacular “the Southside” has come to refer to the neighborhoods encompassed by Cowart Place, Jefferson Heights, and Fort Negly.  Here at the Well we understand the boundaries to be I-24 to the south, Highway 27 to the west, 12th Street to the north, and Central Avenue to the east.

Soon after Chattanooga was formed in the mid-nineteenth century, the Southside developed as a center of industry, with paper factories, rock quarries, lumber yards, meat processing, and some small manufacturing.  By the turn of the century, it was a center for African-American communities, perhaps partially because of its proximity to Howard High School, a historically black high school, and the oldest public school in Chattanooga, white or black. 

When western Chattanooga was re-developed in the mid-twentieth century, the major highways were built, many of the residential buildings were pulled down and the community centers closed.  While many manufacturers and businesses remained, the Southside gradually became perceived as blighted and neglected by the city.  Starting in the 1990s, Chattanooga civic organizations and the city government combined forces to make the Southside once again a place where people work, play, and live.

Today the Southside is a major center for the arts and for creative and ecological development in Chattanooga.  There is a strong sense of community, with many artists choosing to live and work here, and new businesses and houses springing up all the time.  Developers are committed to using the historical buildings for new purposes, but there is plenty of space for new construction and greenways.  The challenges facing the Southside include integrating the new-comers with the long-term residents, connecting the Southside to other parts of the city in organic fashion, and maintaining local jobs and housing for a wide socioeconomic and ethnically diverse demographic. 

Here at the Well, we are committed to being good neighbors and to the work of building the city in the local setting.  We have chosen the Southside as our location because we are inspired by what is happening here—we see God’s Spirit at work in all this renewal and we want to come alongside what is already going on and to support it with our time and resources.  We would like to be both a worshipping community for residents of the Southside as well as for those who don’t live here, but who love the city of Chattanooga and want to find ways to be part of it.  Churches can be important stakeholders in neighborhood development, so we seek to partner with local neighborhood associations, and civic and business organizations rather than duplicate on our own the good work that is already happening here.  The Well supports the arts as integral to what we see as God’s calling to making the world beautiful.  We think the diversity of this community represents God’s ideal for cooperation among his children.  We therefore encourage our members to contemplate moving to the Southside, to patronize local businesses, to participate in community events, and to consider our neighborhood activities/service as important elements of our worship.