Historic Building Burns Down At One of Tennessee’s Oldest HBCUs, Knoxville College

No one was injured.

A building at Knoxville College, East Tennessee’s only historically Black college and one of the oldest in the state, was destroyed by fire on Nov. 4. Although vacant, the flames completely consumed the structure.

The huge fire was reported at Elnathan Hall around 9 p.m. According to a Knoxville Fire Department news release, around 40 firefighters responded to the scene and remained present until 1 a.m., attempting to douse the hotspots of the rubble.

As of Nov. 7, fire investigators suggested the fire was intentionally set at its source. They specified that the “set” could be because of arson but also could have been due to cooking. Knoxville Fire Department Assistant Chief Mark Wilbanks told news outlets that they are still unsure of the cause of the Elnathan Hall fire.

Wilbanks explained, “Nothing new as far as any suspects or anything like that. We do believe it was a set fire. We don’t have any leads at this time, but the investigators were told a few people’s names. They are still looking into that.”

Knoxville College is a small, non-accredited HBCU campus near downtown Knoxville. The college has been contending with debt, low enrollment, and a loss of accreditation. The college now only offers online classes, so the campus is largely vacant. Thankfully, no one was present at Elnathan Hall during the fall, but the location was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Knoxville College is still trying to regain its accreditation and is also searching for a new president of the HBCU. Knoxville College lost its Southern Association of Colleges and Schools accreditation in 1997 due to financial difficulties and a consistently declining enrollment. The college was founded in 1875, and it is one of seven historically Black colleges and universities in Tennessee and the only historically Black college in East Tennessee.