MORRISTOWN, Tenn. — Morristown celebrated the past and the future at the official opening of its new Heritage Park.
The 52-acre park sits where Morristown College once stood. The historically black college closed down in 1994.
Life's road has many twists and turns, but Morris Sherles always knows where home is.
"It's very dear to me," Sherles said. "It put my life on the right road."
Home is where his friends are and where Morristown College used to be.
"We still have those memories," Sherles said. "And, we look back and see how valuable this school was."
Morristown city officials, alumni and supporters cut the ribbon for the Salute to Heritage Park Saturday.
It will stand as a place to enjoy the future and remember the past with recreational space and historical markers.
Markers will remember the one of only two higher educational institutions for African Americans in East Tennessee before the Civil Rights Movement.
"There's so many good things this park is helping solve and create," Morristown Mayor Gary Chesney said.
Chesney said the city bought the land after the college's buildings became unusable.
"It's in a neighborhood that we're looking to revitalize; a neighborhood that used to be the heartbeat of residential living in Morristown," Chesney said.
Now, there's a new heartbeat where the old college used to stand.
"I hope that they're able to build some type of building that they can come back and recap some of those memories that they captured here back through the years," Sherles said.
RELATED: Abandoned Places: Knoxville College