Sergeant Alvin C. York State Historic Park will launch a historic restoration of York Bible School, preserving the structure and eventually return it to its original purpose as an educational center.
Park Manager Nate Dodson said the project focuses on a building Sergeant York constructed in the early 1940s on his boyhood farm. Dodson said the structure was intended to serve as a seminary and a trade school for the local community.
“The York Bible school is a beautiful building, but sadly it was left abandoned for several decades after Sergeant York’s health declined, then he passed away in 1964,” Dodson said. “And so that building sat vacant and unmaintained for several decades.”
Dodson said a $100,000 Capital Maintenance and Improvement Grant from the Tennessee State Museum will fund the installation of electricity in the building. Dodson said the facility currently sits in a mothballed state with a functional roof but no power or modern utilities.
“We saw the opportunity for the grant to provide power to the building, which obviously will lead to the next steps of restoration,” Dodson said. “So we can fix the flooring, we can fix other parts of the building as we have power and other things.”
Dodson said the park staff has already begun using period-style methods, such as linseed oil paint and putties, to restore the historic windows and doors. Once the electrical work is complete, the restoration will focus on finishing the large auditorium meeting space before moving to the classroom section.
“It’s just a beautiful location,” Dodson said. “At this point, the building is not being utilized for anything, but our goal would be to restore it and hopefully to see it through as Sergeant York had envisioned it, as a trade school of sorts.”
Dodson said the building is located on Wolf River Loop Road and is not easily visible from the main highway, which often caused the project to be placed on the back burner. He said the park eventually hopes to utilize the space as a folk school for artists in residence, exhibits, and demonstrations.
“Sergeant York had a big emphasis on education really the rest of his life after World War I,” Dodson said. “He comes home in 1919, he had seen Paris, France and New York City on his travels overseas, and his eyes were really open to the possibilities that education provided.”
Dodson said the grant provides a significant head start for future preservation efforts, including the eventual installation of plumbing and climate control systems. Work on the electrical phase of the project is expected to begin within the next two months.