History of Tennessee Wesleyan College

Standing on a hill two blocks north of the courthouse square, the forty-acre, tree-lined campus of Tennessee Wesleyan College provides a serene, tranquil setting for scholars. Athens, the county seat of McMinn County and a community of 15,000, is located near I-75 midway between Chattanooga and Knoxville in the heart of the Sweetwater Valley. Less than an hour’s drive east of Athens loom the Great Smoky Mountains and the Cherokee National Forest, and to the west lies the Cumberland Plateau.

At the center of the campus, surrounded by buildings that frame the quadrangle, stands historic Old College Hall, built in the early 1850’s. This original building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, served as a hospital during the Civil War and today houses the Office of the President and the Academic Dean. Lawrence Hall, adjacent to Old College and a one-time women’s residence facility, is a beautifully-appointed building used presently for administrative and faculty offices. Across the quadrangle from Lawrence is Townsend Memorial Hall, a newly-renovated 600-seat auditorium and student services complex. At the south end of the quadrangle is Sherman Fine Arts Building. Completing the quadrangle are Fisher Science Building, Banfield-Durham Hall, and the Merner Pfeiffer Library. Fisher houses faculty offices, biology, chemistry, physics, and computer laboratories, and lecture and seminar rooms. Banfield-Durham was constructed in 1901, completely renovated in 2001, and features classrooms, faculty offices, and a computer laboratory. The Library, a charming neoclassical structure, holds over 100,000 volumes. Other campus buildings include Centennial Hall, a classroom building; Robb Gymnasium, which also contains faculty and coaching staff offices; Fowler Hall, a men’s dorm that also houses the Thornton Fitness Center; Keith Hall, a women’s dorm; and the Nocatula Apartments, which house upper-class students.

Though a small college, Tennessee Wesleyan has significantly influenced the region it serves, as well as thousands of alumni. From its halls have ventured forth future leaders in church, education, music, science, law, medicine, government, and civic affairs.