City buys Morristown College; plans to build a park
MORRISTOWN, Tenn. (AP) – The city of Morristown has agreed to buy the long-abandoned Morristown College in order to tear it down and build a public park that will address the city’s historical significance.
Mayor Gary Chesney told WBIR-TV (http://on.wbir.com/2f7R9tb ) on Monday that the city and the former school’s owners reached an agreement last week for $900,000. He says the demolition project could begin later this week.
The former owners had earlier proposed transforming the 52-acre eastern Tennessee campus into a residential and commercial hub.
City officials say the old structures need to be secured and demolished because the buildings are deteriorating and some are “covered with asbestos.”
Morristown College was founded in 1881 as a school for African-Americans. It closed in 1994.
