[3] By the fall of 1868, the freedmen of Jefferson County's Morristown district established a small grammar school, attracting students from the community and other areas of the state and the South.

Stearns, who lost her husband and a son to the Civil War, moved to the area with her daughter, Anna, to do missionary work.

Relying upon their Christian faith and the assistance of supporters, the harshness of the Reconstruction era and local resistance toward the school were taken in stride as student growth and learning was on a steady pace, reaching a wide variety of age groups.

After being pastor for the First Methodist Church of Chattanooga and doing missionary work, Judson Hill[5] and his wife Laura moved to the Morristown area.

To raise money for needed classroom buildings and dormitories, Hill secured funds from northern philanthropists such as Andrew Carnegie, the McCormick's and Swift's of Chicago, and the Kellogg's of Battle Creek, Michigan.

Through his successes in fundraising, Hill was able to launch a major expansion and building program for the college that included the construction of dormitories, classrooms, administrative offices, and a dining facility.

Some of the industrial courses offered for male students included woodworking, brick-making and masonry, carpentry, iron-molding, shoemaking, broom manufacturing, and agricultural training.

For the remainder of Hill's presidency, industrial education was the central focus of the Morristown curriculum, decreasing the earlier emphasis on teacher and clergy training.

After Hill's passing and two years of searching, the Board of Schools of the Methodist Church selected Edward C. Paustin as the new president.

During his three-year tenure, Paustin changed the direction of the school from industrial training to a more traditional liberal arts education.

Through his efforts, enrollment rose to 435 (the largest in the school's history), the college's finances improved, and relations with the community were further raised.

After the civil rights movement of the 1960s, African Americans were able to attend previously all-white, state-supported colleges and universities.

As a result, Morristown College found it increasingly difficult to compete with the larger public institutions that could offer cheaper tuition and received state and federal funds.

Its significant architectural examples included Queen Anne and Georgian Revival styles, but the campus suffered from neglect.

Fulfilling the mission of its founders and possibly exceeding it, the school's existence served as a reminder of hard work and persistence can pay off in the face of adversity and challenges.

Due to neglect by the site's owners, most of the college buildings fell into disrepair, succumbing to vandalism and fires.