Though founded in 1794, Chattanooga did not get its name until 1838. At that time, the cotton trade was the main export from this area. Chattanooga was also the main depot for supplies in grains, meat, whiskey, flour, and groceries for the area. The first railroad opened here in December 1849, and it diverted the cotton trade to Memphis. To make up for this loss of trade, several machine shops and iron works were built in Chattanooga. Then the Civil War began.

The population was decimated and Chattanooga was nothing more than a military camp until August, 1865. Desolation reigned post-war, and temporary quarters were created for merchants in an attempt to restore trade and a sense of normalcy. In 1866, there was only one wholesale house selling dry goods in Chattanooga. Thirteen years later, this would more than triple.

By 1879, the wholesale trade exploded in Chattanooga. There were grocers, dry goods shops, clothiers, tobacco, wine and whiskey wholesalers. The railroads were the perfect mechanism of export for the whiskey and tobacco industry. There were only seven liquor wholesalers listed in the 1879 business directory, but their volume of business collectively exceeded $260,000 ($8.2 million in 2023). J.W. Kelly & E.R. Betterton topped this list of wholesalers.

The whiskey industry in the city had expanded by 1910 to include thirty distilleries (four of which were considered prominent) , more than 100 rectifiers, and more than 50 saloons and bars. This was despite the rising prohibition movement across the country. Georgia and Tennessee were the first two states to pass laws prohibiting the sale and manufacture of alcohol. That did not really end the million-dollar industry in Chattanooga. Though the major distilleries in the city were shut down and sold off, the city went underground and continued to imbibe.