Ten new brown signs were recently installed by the Tennessee Department of Transportation and the city of Chattanooga along the interstate and side streets directing visitors to the International Towing & Recovery Hall of Fame & Museum.
Cheryl Mish, executive director of the museum, said, “This has been a wonderful project to see come to fruition. The Tennessee Department of Transportation has been instrumental in this process and the City of Chattanooga officials have been extremely effective and agreeable in making this a reality. We are ecstatic with the results and thank everyone involved for a job well done. We also believe this will be a great addition to the tourism in the City of Chattanooga and hope that it will cause a higher volume of visitors to stop to see the museum, which in turn will give the museum the opportunity to tell them about the other great things to see and do in this great city.”
Two large signs were placed by TDOT on I-24 Eastbound and Westbound and five signs off of Exit 178. Three smaller signs were installed by the city of Chattanooga on Williams, 25th and 20th Streets.
In September 1995, the International Towing and Recovery Hall of Fame and Museum opened to the public. Located in downtown Chattanooga, the museum exhibits tow trucks and towing equipment dating back to 1916. The rotating collection includes early equipment built by Manley, Holmes, Vulcan and Weaver. The Towing Hall of Fame is also housed in the museum, with elected honorees from 13 countries.
The towing industry was born in 1916 in the city of Chattanooga, after Ernest Holmes, Sr. and 10 helpers spent all night using only ropes and blocks tied to trees to recover a friend’s overturned Model T from a creek. He opened Chattanooga’s first independent garage, and when others saw his invention, they wanted to purchase one. From that experience, Holmes invented the reversing winch and began manufacturing twin boom wreckers for disabled autos. There is a historical marker on Market Street honoring Holmes for his contributions to the towing and recovery industry, the city of Chattanooga and the Allied Forces during WW II.
Holmes’ business grew as the auto industry expanded, and eventually its products earned a worldwide reputation for their quality and performance. Ernest Holmes, Sr., died in 1945, and was succeeded by his son Ernest Holmes, Jr., who ran the company until he retired in 1973. That year the company was sold to the Dover Corporation. That same year the founder’s grandson, Gerald Holmes, left the company and started Century Wrecker Corporation. He built his manufacturing facility in nearby Ooltewah, Tenn., and quickly rivaled the original company with his hydraulically-powered wreckers. Eventually, assets of both companies were purchased by Miller Industries, which also acquired other wrecker manufacturers. Today, Miller Industries in Ooltewah is the largest manufacturer of towing equipment in the world.
Mish added, “We would like to thank all of our local businesses that have spent so much time supporting the museum. We truly hope this is only a small stepping stone into bigger and better things for the City of Chattanooga.”
Source: Chattanooga Area Convention and Visitors Bureau