For covenant students past and present, the words, “We are the Scots! We come from the mountain,” represent school spirit and tight-knit community. However, a glimpse into the history of this mountain provides a deeper story behind the phrase. If you walk down the hill behind Carter Hall and continue past the aptly named Jackson Hall, you will find a small, fenced-off cemetery with three simple gravestones bearing the names of Courtland Columbus “C.C.” Jackson, Sallie Rhea, and Courtland Stonewall “C.S.” Many students are familiar with this family cemetery, yet few know the history of their namesakes Jackson Hall, Jackson Spring, and Jackson Hill. Gary Lindley, a 1972 alumnus and retired history professor, has done extensive research regarding Jackson Hill since he and his wife Patricia (Sussman), a 1973 graduate, currently are neighbors to Covenant College on the land that once belonged to the Jackson family.

The Jackson Family’s Beginnings

According to Lindley, amidst the second Great Awakening and frontier revivalism in 1859, the Jackson family moved to Lookout Mountain from Virginia to “establish Sunday schools in destitute places to promote literacy and spiritual formation” for the American Sunday School Union (ASSU). “While today tourism and outdoor activities make Lookout attractive and prosperous, no doubt it was one of those destitute places 150 years ago,” explains Lindley. The unfortunate forced removal of the Cherokees in the 1830s created space for new settlements as well, yet despite some of the more tragic history of Jackson Hill, the Jackson family served the Lord faithfully where they were called.

There were around 12 local families with 25 children who signed up for C.C. Jackson’s teaching. A descendant from Scottish Presbyterian families, C.C. was also a Presbyterian and had studied at the Union Theological Seminary in Virginia. The Jacksons’ great grandson Rufus Triplett, who resides locally, has in his possession a testimonial dated to 1866 written to attest to C.C.’s good character that reads, “He is esteemed... as a teacher of highest qualifications and his zealous and persevering labors... in the cause of Sabbath schools [have] met great success.” There is also evidence that several churches in this area exist today as descendants of the Jackson family’s efforts. The Jacksons lived here with the mission for education, spiritual formation, and service to the Church. Does that mission sound familiar?

Newly confirmed President Voyles told this very story at the end of his inaugural address on March 15. “Imagine with me if you will,” he said: “This young family, C.C. and Sallie, their young son, Courtland, and soon to be daughter Mary, gathering each night to pray as a family that the Lord would bless their ministry efforts, that the Lord would bring students to them, and that the students, through studying the Word of God would have their minds trained and their hearts formed.” President Voyles continued in amazement at the providence of God, “They were praying that the very ground they were on would be set apart for education and spiritual formation to the glory of God.” Those prayers were just the beginning of one of the many stories of God’s abounding faithfulness toward us for His glory.

A Series of Providential Transactions

The grave markers on campus indicate that C.C. and Sallie Rhea remained in the area until their deaths in 1912 and 1920. After their passing, their daughter Mary and her husband sold the land to Paul Carter in 1925. There, Carter built the Lookout Mountain Hotel, which opened in 1928 but closed in the early 1960s. During the several years the hotel sat abandoned, a group of women and men gathered to faithfully pray for God to claim the building on the mountain. Around this time, the college had outgrown the facility in St. Louis and decided to make the bold move to buy the hotel and the land. President Marion Barnes later wrote regarding this risky decision, “After we had learned that another group was placing a bid of $350,000 on the facility, we decided to test the Lord’s will in the matter by offering a bid of only $250,000.” To the surprise of many, this bid of $250,000 was accepted.

Not only did the Lookout Mountain Hotel become the centerpiece of the Covenant campus, but Paul Carter later gave the college hundreds of acres of mountain property. What convinced him to be so generous was a visit with Covenant’s vice president of development at the time, Allen Duble. Paul had dreamed that the Lookout Mountain Hotel would draw people from all over the country. In the face of his apparent failure, Duble reminded him, “I don’t know whether you have thought of this or not, but your dream has been fulfilled in greater measure than you ever could have dreamed. We’ve got kids here from 24 states and 17 foreign countries, and they don’t come for a weekend—they come for four years.”

Mission Fulfillment on the Mountain

So here we come full circle. Not only is Covenant the fulfillment of Paul Carter’s vision, but also of the Jackson family’s vision who came to this mountain to establish a witness for Jesus Christ. Lindley writes, “In a remarkable real estate ‘fire sale,’ Covenant College was practically given this portion of the mountain to establish a clear Reformed witness for the preeminence of Christ in all things among students from all over the world—How many schools can make such a claim regarding the significance of their physical place and its relation to their mission?”

The Jackson family made the decision to move far from home in order that Christ may have preeminence in “desolate” places, yet they had little idea of the larger purposes that God intended to establish through Covenant College. This mountain represents not only a dream fulfilled, but a community of mission-minded individuals that dates back to 1859. “How incredible is it that the Jackson family’s prayers have echoed in eternity for 165 years?” President Voyles exclaimed, “They’re buried on this very land, and now we’re on this same land, and we bear witness to the incredible fulfillment of prayers offered long ago by a family who could have scarcely imagined this type of fulfillment.”

So now, when recent or long ago graduates, new or retired employees, friends or supporters of this college say, “We come from the Mountain,” it holds weight as it represents our desire to explore and express the preeminence of Jesus in all things. However, the phrase also entails accountability on the speaker’s part and on Covenant’s part. If we claim we come from this legacy, then it should show. When the world interacts with the Covenant community, they should immediately wonder, “Who are these people, and where do they come from?”

Our deepest desire is that those who come to this mountain might grow to understand where they truly come from by knowing their identity in Christ and who God made them to be. “We gather as the fulfillment of not just the Jacksons’ prayers 165 years ago, nor of the 11 saints praying every week 60 years ago, nor of all the praying people of God— alumni, family, and friends around the world who lift up this college—which is all very true,” President Voyles affirmed, “But ultimately, we’re here as the fulfillment of God’s purposes.”

To read the full story “Of Purpose and Place” by Gary Lindley, visit covenant.edu/jacksonhill.

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