Kimsey College

I've always had a certain fascination with old buildings. In graduate school I did a large economic development project on the Bemberg/North-American Rayon factories in Elizabethton. It was one of my finer academic moments. Recently, on a trip to Ducktown for work, I decided to investigate an anomaly that had come up in my research. During my first visit last month, I had passed a sign for Ducktown Elementary. None of my research had mentioned the existence of this school. So on this trip I decided to arrive a little early and take a look for myself.

After pulling off of the highway there is a long driveway with trees on each side leading up to the building. After getting through the driveway and to the parking lot in front of the building, I was very surprised at the scope of the structure in front of me. The detail and character of the architecture were a very interesting and unique to Ducktown. So was the mannequin head someone had ominously placed in the third floor window.

I spoke with some people in Ducktown and did a little research. As it turns out the school was originally built in 1932 to be a junior college. For whatever reason this never came about and it was eventually turned into a high school in 1938 and then an elementary school in 1972. The elementary school was closed in 2007. Since that time the building has been vacant with the only major improvement being a new roof installed in 2009. In 1992 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The shame of it all is that such an impressive structure is allowed to lay in waste. The parking lot was showing signs of disrepair and apparently someone had attempted to break in one of the doors. There's no telling what time has done to the electrical and plumbing systems. I looked through the windows and saw various items left over from the building's last occupants. From my understanding there has been some interest in the last few years about occupying the building but nothing substantial.

The structure is an unused asset for the community. And so my mind is working...