State officials are expected to move forward with plans to demolish the historic “Poor House” building located in front of Alvin C. York Agricultural Institute in Jamestown.
York Institute Director of Schools John Bush said the state has planned to demolish the building for some time. Bush said the structure was built in the late 1800s and has deteriorated significantly after sitting unused since the 1980s.
“Which is sad because I do have a special place in my heart for historical preservation, but it has had the time for it to be repaired has passed, and so it’s structurally beyond salvage at this point,” Bush said.
Though it is sad to see the historic building go, Bush said the school plans to build a general store in its place. Bush said the store will sell meat products, vegetables, and other items produced through the school’s agriculture programs.
“So we are going to, in the place of the poorhouse, we are going to have an amenity that Jamestown has not had — a standalone retail meat shop that the city of Jamestown hasn’t had in over 100 years,” Bush said. “So we are really excited about what’s happening in that space.”
Bush said he is not going to point fingers at who should have made improvements to the building years ago. However, he said not all of the building’s history will be lost.
“We want to preserve as much as we can,” Bush said. “We have already removed the windows and doors, which will be repurposed at the Alvin C. York State Park in Pall Mall. We also took out an old sales counter that our residential construction class will restore, and that counter will actually be used in the general store we plan to build on the site.”
Bush said the demolition process has required approval from multiple state agencies due to the building’s historical significance, and officials are now awaiting final approval from the State Building Commission.
“In order to demo the building, we had to go through several steps and first receive approval from the Tennessee Historical Commission because of its historical significance,” Bush said. “We are now just awaiting final approval from the State Building Commission, and once that comes through, we will be ready to move forward.”
Bush said the state could proceed with the demolition any day now.