Junior college in Polk County gets the chance to live again

POLK COUNTY, Tenn. — Jason Collis is restoring history in Ducktown, Tennessee.

Jason Collis and his wife purchased the Kimsey junior college last year.

They are restoring the school in hopes preserve this historic building.

This old school was built in 1932 and designed by the architect Reuben H. Hunt, says Collis.

Collis says in 2006 the school was abandoned. He says the school was vandalized and neglected for many years.

Collis tells us the whole town did not want to watch the school fade away.

It's enlisted in the top 10 most endangered buildings in Tennessee. It's on the National Historic registry. But it's it's a famous build, says Collis.

Collis says he went to Kimsey school from kindergarten through seventh grade.

I was able to purchase the building about a year ago and have worked day and night for over a year, says Collis

Collis and his family moved into the school last year to begin the reconstruction.

He says they did not realize how much work needed to be done until they moved in, but they were determined to restore this historic building.

Collis says there was extreme damage to the roof of the school.

The auditorium looks amazing from where it was, I mean, the ceiling was hanging down and we got new chairs now. So it's made leaps and bounds, says Collis.

The first thing he chose to restore was the auditorium.

Here is what it looks like now:

Collis says while they have accomplished so much there still is a ton of work to do.

Collis and his family hold events at the school so the community can come to the school.

He says at the last event they held over 2,000 people.

They hold two major events in the spring and fall.

These events contain food, games, obstacle courses, and a chance for the community to embrace the school.

I'm trying to bring a lot of the things back that was lost, says Collis.

Jason Collis has many more ideas for the future use of the school.