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HISTORY OF COVENANT COLLEGE |
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Fueled by the vision of helping Christians learn to
live as active, reforming members of a complex society,
Covenant College was established during the fall of
1955 in Pasadena, California. With the help of several
professors from Faith Theological Seminary and a building
donated by an order of Catholic sisters, the college
moved to St. Louis, Missouri, just one year after its
birth. Covenant soon became a four-year liberal arts
college and a theological seminary operated by one board
and one administration. Over the next eight years the
institution increased in size and outgrew the facilities.
Mr. Hugh Smith  discovered
that the Lookout Mountain Hotel was for sale. Built
in 1927 with the South's largest ballroom and 200 guest
rooms, the once-posh "Castle in the Clouds" seemed an
ideal location for the college. Mr. Smith recommended
the property to the trustees. After much debate, the
trustees approved the purchase of the old hotel and
the college moved one last time in 1964.
According to Scottish legend, the thistle played a
vital role in victory at the Battle of Largs in 1262.
A barefooted invader unwittingly trod on a thistle during
his inland advance. Armed in all its parts with prickly
spines, the wild plant caused him to howl in pain, announcing
the unwelcome visit of king Harco's men. After saving
the day for the Scottish defenders, the purple-flowered
thistle became Scotland's national emblem, and serves
as a symbol of Covenant's history and purpose.
has been a pioneer's homeplace and a plush resort. Under
a treaty in 1819, the land lay along the northern boundary
of the Cherokee Nation. After the Cherokees were forced
westward along the 'Trail of Tears,' the land was seized
by the federal government and was ordered auctioned
to benefit the widows and orphans of the War of 1812.
Robert M. Parris took the bid on a large portion of
land, later adding to his holdings through purchases
from a widow and her two daughters. In 1856 he sold
400 acres to C. C. Jackson for $1 per acre. Jackson
settled with his family in a cabin near Frontier Bluff.
(The family cemetery remains in a protected area below
the college.) Sallie Jackson remembered hearing the
cannon and musket fire from the Battle of Chickamauga;
family members watched the battle from the top of Jackson
Hill. Later, federal troops used the Jackson land as
a camp.
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The Lookout Mountain Hotel (now Carter Hall) was built
in 1927 as a posh resort at a cost of $1,450,000.
Paul Carter's plans called for 200 guest rooms, the
South's largest ballroom, and a tower to stand ten
stories high. The hotel opened in 1928 offering swimming,
tennis, horseback riding, dancing, hiking, golf, and
elegant meals. The Great Depression proved its downfall,
however, and two more attempts to salvage it as a
hotel failed.
Hugh Smith of Huntsville, Alabama, learned of the
property in the early sixties and saw its potential
as a college site. He recommended the idea to the
Covenant College trustees, then in St. Louis. Since
the college had outgrown its facilities there, the
decision was made, after much debate and some delay,
to move to Lookout Mountain. Smith was assisted by
Harold Finch.
Renovations were made and the dedicatory service
was held September 19, 1964. Dr. Robert Rayburn served as president of the college until Dr. Marion Barnes succeeded him in 1965. Dr. Martin Essenburg followed Dr. Barnes, and Dr. Frank Brock followed Dr. Essenburg. The current president, Dr. Niel Nielson, was inaugurated in 2002.
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