Community saddened by the loss of historic building at Knoxville College [Video]

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) – A historic campus was devastated by fire Monday night as Knoxville College lost a building that has stood for over a century.

Previous Coverage: ‘It’s a sad day’ | Flames engulf historic building at Knoxville College

“It’s just very sad, very sad to lose a part of history that needs to be saved. It’s a 100-year-old building that we lost,” Debra Espy, a neighbor near the college said.

Knoxville College is a historically black college or university, also known as an HBCU. It was built shortly after the civil war.

After decades of community service, the school lost accreditation back in 1997 and is now only offering online classes.

Since then, the school has been struggling, and Knox Heritage has been trying to help it. Last year, the school filed for accreditation.

Previous Coverage: Knoxville College could be welcoming students, accreditation back to campus soon

“Going back to 2006, which is when …