Editing Morristown, Tennessee (section)

==History==
===Early years and establishment===
Before its settlement by [[European colonization of the Americas|European-American]]s, the area of Morristown was inhabited by [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]]s, predominately members of the [[Cherokee]] tribe.<ref name="haunTNEC">{{cite web |last1=Haun |first1=Berwin |title=Hamblen County |url=https://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entries/hamblen-county/ |website=[[Tennessee Encyclopedia]] |publisher=[[Tennessee Historical Society]] |access-date=December 23, 2023 |date=October 8, 2017}}</ref> During the Cherokee's inhabitance, the area was based around two major pathways, an east-west route that was later developed into the [[Great Stage Road]] in the settlement era, and a north-south route known as Buffalo Trail, named for a legend stating the path was formed from herds of [[American bison|buffalo]] traveling from [[Asheville, North Carolina]] to the [[Powell River (Tennessee River tributary)|Powell River]] near the [[Cumberland Gap]] for the river's salt licks.<ref name="brooks1">{{cite news |last1=Davis Brooks |first1=Cora |title=History of Morristown: 1787-1936 |url=https://newspapers.com/image/586788638/ |access-date=December 26, 2023 |work=The Morristown Sun |date=September 4, 1955 |page=9}}</ref>

The settlement of Morristown was established by [[trans-Appalachia]]n pioneer [[Gideon Morris]], a farmer who arrived with his brothers Daniel and Absalom from the [[Watauga Association|Watauga Settlement]], a semi-autonomous government based on land that was leased to European-American settlers from the inhabiting Cherokee tribes.<ref name="settlement">{{cite book |last1=Brooks |first1=Cora |title=History of Morristown, 1787-1936 |date=1940 |publisher=WPA Publishers |url=https://www.sos.tn.gov/products/tsla/bibliography-tennessee-local-history-sources-hamblen-county |access-date=August 8, 2020}}</ref> Prior to his settlement, Morris had fought alongside [[John Sevier]] in the [[Cherokee Expedition]] in 1776, and obtained land grants after serving in the [[American Revolutionary War]] at the [[Battle of Kings Mountain]].<ref name="tuller1">{{cite web |last1=Tuller |first1=Roberta |title=Gideon Morris |url=https://www.anamericanfamilyhistory.com/TennesseeFamilies&Places/Morris%20Family/MorrisGideon1750.html |website=An American Family History |access-date=December 26, 2023 |date=2020}}</ref><ref name="tuller2">{{cite web |last1=Tuller |first1=Roberta |title=1776 Cherokee Expedition |url=https://www.anamericanfamilyhistory.com/TennesseeFamilies&Places/1776%20Cherokee%20Expedition.html |website=An American Family History |access-date=December 26, 2023 |date=2020}}</ref>

Morris, along with his siblings, petitioned to have the Watauga Settlement annexed in the State of [[North Carolina]].<ref name="settlement"/> With the petition's success, the settlement was named Morristown, and land grants containing present-day Hamblen and Jefferson counties were assigned to Morris and his brothers in 1787 by North Carolina state officials.<ref name="Hobby"/><ref name="mrpc"/> The Morris household built their first home off of present-day South Cumberland Street in Morristown, which remained occupied by descendants of the Morris family for several generations.<ref name="sunhist2">{{cite news |title=History of Morristown Continued |url=https://newspapers.com/image/586790092/?terms=%22Morristown%22%20%22Cumberland%20Street%22&match=1 |access-date=December 26, 2023 |work=The Morristown Sun |date=September 4, 1955 |page=12}}</ref>

From 1792 to 1793, the community's main street was added onto a major stagecoach route connecting it to [[Knoxville, Tennessee|Knoxville]] and [[Abingdon, Virginia]], aiding further early settlement efforts.<ref name="registrationform">{{cite web |title=National Register of Historic Places Registration Form |url=https://www.nps.gov/nr/feature/places/pdfs/16000120.pdf |website=[[National Register of Historic Places]] |publisher=[[National Park Service]] |access-date=September 15, 2020 |date=March 22, 2016 }}</ref><ref name="laneTNGenWebIntro">{{cite web |title=Introduction to Hamblen County History |url=https://tngenweb.org/hamblen/records/history.php |website=Hamblen County, TNGenWeb |publisher=THE GOODSPEED PUBLISHING CO |access-date=December 25, 2023 |date=1887}}</ref> Among these settlers was frontiersman [[John Crockett (frontiersman)|John Crockett]], who arrived and settled east of the Morris residence in 1794 with his son, famed pioneer and folk-hero [[Davy Crockett]] who was seven years old at the time. John Crockett constructed a [[Crockett Tavern Museum|log cabin]] that later served as a tavern, and a hospital treating [[smallpox]] during the [[American Civil War]]. After the Civil War, the Crockett Tavern was destroyed to prevent further infections of smallpox.<ref name="sunhist2"/> The current-day [[Crockett Tavern Museum]] sits at the approximate location of the former tavern and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.<ref>{{cite web|title=Abbreviated History|url= http://www.crocketttavernmuseum.org/history.html|website=CrockettTavernMuseum.org|access-date=November 1, 2018}}</ref> John's son, Davy resided in Morristown until 1809, when he relocated to [[Middle Tennessee]] to go into Tennessee state politics.<ref name="sunhist2"/> 

By 1833, Morristown developed into a small village, consisting of a post office, a general store, a blacksmith and machine shop which was the first major enterprise in the town, and several log cabin residences along the main stagecoach route known as the [[Great Stage Road]] that divided the community into two counties, [[Grainger County, Tennessee|Grainger]] to the north, and [[Jefferson County, Tennessee|Jefferson]] to the south.<ref name="sunhist2"/><ref name="hill57">{{cite news |last1=Hill |first1=Howard |title=Old Friends and Neighbors of the Morris Family |url=https://newspapers.com/image/587594060/?terms=%22Stage%20Road%22%20%22Morristown%22&match=1 |access-date=December 26, 2023 |work=Morristown Gazette Mail |date=June 9, 1957 |page=2}}</ref> Morristown Academy, the community's first documented school, opened to students in 1830.<ref name="sunhist2"/> In 1855, Morristown was [[Municipal corporation|incorporated]] into a city to provide new services to the community's growing population.<ref name="about"/><ref name="sunhist2"/>  Railroad access became available to Morristown when construction completed on the [[East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad]] in 1858, which was the first railroad line to be operational in the state of [[Tennessee]].<ref name="sunhist2"/> Morristown was serviced by its first newspaper, the ''American Statesman'', in 1857 after relocating to Morristown from [[Dandridge, Tennessee|Dandridge]], the seat of Jefferson County.<ref name="sunhist2"/> By 1860, Morristown was recorded by the [[United States Census Bureau]] to have an initial population of 500 as an incorporated city.<ref name="sunhist2"/>

Between 1855 and 1870, Morristown's [[City limits|municipal limits]] were divided along Main Street into [[Grainger County, Tennessee|Grainger]] and [[Jefferson County, Tennessee|Jefferson]] counties.<ref name="about"/> Many residents brought concerns regarding transportation and communication access in Morristown, and neighboring communities such as [[Russellville, Tennessee|Russellville]] and Panther Springs raised concerns as well regarding accessibility to Morristown.<ref name="tradition"/> After working with government officials from the neighboring counties and the state government, [[Hamblen County, Tennessee|Hamblen County]] was formed from portions of Grainger, Jefferson, [[Hawkins County, Tennessee|Hawkins]], and [[Greene County, Tennessee|Greene]] counties.<ref name="tradition">{{cite web |title=Tradition Tells How Hamblen County Came Into Being |url=https://www.tngenweb.org/hamblen/records/history.php#Tradition |website=Hamblen County, Tennessee Genealogy |access-date=September 14, 2020}}</ref> Morristown was chosen as the [[county seat]] of Hamblen County shortly after its formation in 1870.<ref name="about"/>

===Civil War===
{{Main|Battle of Morristown}}
{{See also|Tennessee in the American Civil War}}
As the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] approached, the town's sympathies were divided between the [[Union (ACW)|Union]] and [[Secession in the United States|secession]]ist sides. In December 1863, some 25,000 [[Confederate Army]] soldiers under the command of General [[James Longstreet]] arrived at [[Bethesda Presbyterian Church (Russellville, Tennessee)|Bethesda Presbyterian Church]], northeast of the town, to spend the winter, after the [[Battle of Bean's Station]]. They remained there until February 1864 and used the Bethesda Church building as a hospital.<ref name=HistMarker>{{cite web |url=http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=35659 |title=Bethesda Presbyterian Church: A Church Divided |work=The Historical Marker Database |access-date=January 12, 2014}}</ref><ref name=KNS2012>{{cite web|url= http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/apr/01/bethesda-was-war-hospital-casualty/ |title=Bethesda Church was first a hospital, then a casualty |first=Amy |last=McRary |date= April 1, 2012 |newspaper=Knoxville News Sentinel}}</ref> Military engagements occurred near the church in both October and November 1864.<ref name=HistMarker/> On October 28, 1864, Union General [[Alvan Cullem Gillem|Alvan C. Gillem]] attacked Confederate forces under General [[John C. Vaughn]] in the [[Battle of Morristown]]. They fought in and around the town with Gillem routing Vaughn's Confederates in what became known as "Vaughn's Stampede." Vaughn was forced to retreat to Carter's Station on the [[Watauga River]] in northeastern Tennessee. The battle resulted in about 335 total casualties.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Battle of Morristown, 1864|url=http://www.lcs.net/users/sdc/battle.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110920081822/http://www.lcs.net/users/sdc/battle.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 20, 2011|author=Campbell, S.|date=April 30, 2010|access-date=May 13, 2020}}</ref><ref name=TouristAffair>{{cite web |url=http://www.tnvacation.com/civil-war/place/2089/affair-at-morristown/ |title=Affair at Morristown |publisher=Tennessee Department of Tourist Development |access-date=January 13, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116071230/http://www.tnvacation.com/civil-war/place/2089/affair-at-morristown/ |archive-date=January 16, 2014 }}</ref><ref name=Dreaded13th>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6YH-AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA72 |title=The Dreaded 13th Tennessee Union Cavalry: Marauding Mountain Men |first=Melanie |last=Storie |publisher=The History Press |year=2013 |isbn=9781626191129 |pages=72–75|via=Google Books}}</ref> In the [[Battle of Bull's Gap]] ("Gillem's Stampede") in November, Confederate forces under General [[John C. Breckinridge]] prevailed over Gillem's troops, chasing the Union forces westward to a defensive position at [[Strawberry Plains]] near [[Knoxville, Tennessee|Knoxville]].<ref name=Dreaded13th/><ref name=TouristBethesda/> During one of these skirmishes, a [[Round shot|cannonball]] penetrated one of the church walls, causing structural damage that was repaired by reinforcing the walls with large iron rods.<ref name=HistMarker/> The Union Army used the church as a hospital for soldiers wounded in these operations.<ref name=TouristBethesda>{{cite web |url=http://www.tnvacation.com/civil-war/place/2098/bethesda-church-and-cemetery/ |title=Bethesda Church and Cemetery |publisher=Tennessee Department of Tourist Development |access-date=January 13, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116071314/http://www.tnvacation.com/civil-war/place/2098/bethesda-church-and-cemetery/ |archive-date=January 16, 2014 }}</ref> Many soldiers from both sides are interred in the Bethesda Church cemetery. Eighty of the wartime burials are unidentified.<ref name=HistMarker/><ref name=KNS2012/>

===Later 19th century developments===
Morristown saw a steady shift into an industrially-based economy in the early beginnings of the [[Industrial Revolution in the United States|Industrial Revolution]], around the early to late 19th century. The first industry in the area was the Shields Paper Mill, located on the [[Holston River]], operating from 1825 to 1861.<ref name="encyclopedia">{{cite web |last1=Haun |first1=Burwin |title=Hamblen County |url=https://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entries/hamblen-county/ |website=[[Tennessee Encyclopedia]] |access-date=August 8, 2020}}</ref> Other prominent early businesses included the Morristown Manufacturing Company and the later [[Knoxville, Tennessee|Knoxville]]-based [[JFG Coffee Company|J. F. Goodson Coffee Company]] in 1882.<ref name="encyclopedia"/><ref name="coffee">{{cite web |title=JFG Coffee Company Building |url=http://knoxheritage.org/our-work/neighborhood-tours/historic-downtown-knoxville-walking-tour/jfg-coffee-company-building/ |website=Knox Heritage |access-date=August 8, 2020 |quote=JFG Coffee Company was founded in Morristown in 1882 by James Franklin Goodson as a wholesale grocery company. JFG was one of the best-known regional roasters and marketers of ground coffee, tea, mayonnaise, and peanut butter. }}</ref>

From 1891 to 1928, Morristown was a terminal on the Knoxville and Bristol Railroad, commonly known by locals as the "Peavine Railroad." The railroad was a branch line of the [[Southern Railway (U.S.)|Southern Railway]] that ran from downtown Morristown on Main Street to [[Corryton, Tennessee|Corryton]], a bedroom community outside of [[Knoxville, Tennessee|Knoxville]].<ref name="peavine">{{cite journal |last1=Faulkner |first1=Charles |title=Industrial Archaeology of the "Peavine Railroad": An Archaeological and Historical Study of an Abandoned Railroad in East Tennessee |journal=Tennessee Historical Quarterly |date=1985 |volume=44 |issue=1 |pages=40–58 |publisher=[[Tennessee Historical Society]]|jstor=42626500 }}</ref><ref name="tours">{{cite web |author1=[[Middle Tennessee State University]] Center for Historic Preservation |author2=Crossroads Downtown Partnership |title=Morristown, Tennessee Walking and Driving Tours |url=https://www.mtsuhistpres.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Morristown-Walking-and-Driving-Tours.pdf |website=[[Middle Tennessee State University]] Center for Historic Preservation |access-date=August 8, 2020 |date=2019 }}</ref> The Peavine Railroad had first operated between Morristown and [[Bean Station, Tennessee|Bean Station]], with plans to connect north to the [[Cumberland Gap]], but instead extended west through [[Grainger County, Tennessee|Grainger County]] towards Knoxville due to feasibility concerns regarding construction through the Clinch Mountain valley.<ref name="railroad">{{cite news |last1=Hill |first1=Howard |title=The Old Peavine Railroad |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/40768906 |page=6 |access-date=August 7, 2020 |work=Morristown Daily Gazette and Mail |date=January 20, 1957|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

===Mid 20th century to present day ===
[[File:Morristown, Tennessee (circa 1904-1906).jpg|thumb|Main Street (circa 1905)]]

==== American Enka and the labor movement ====
In 1944, the [[American Enka Company]], a [[Rayon|rayon fiber]] producer based out of [[Asheville, North Carolina]], began construction on a 230-acre plant in the [[Lowland, Tennessee|Lowland]] region of Morristown, beginning operations in 1947.<ref name="buerki">{{cite web |last1=Buerki |first1=Karen |title=Liberty Fibers |url=https://response.epa.gov/site/site_profile.aspx?site_id=5986#:~:text=On%20April%2021%2C%202010%2C%20Region%204%20ERRB%20responded,1992%20when%20it%20was%20sold%20to%20Lenzing%20AG. |website=EPA ON-SCENE COORDINATOR (OSC) RESPONSE WEBSITE |publisher=[[Environmental Protection Agency]] |access-date=November 16, 2020}}</ref><ref name="lenzingblogspot">{{cite web |title=Lenzing - Lowland |url=https://lenzinglowland.blogspot.com/ |website=Lenzing - Lowland |access-date=November 16, 2020}}</ref>
 
In March 1950, workers at the facility walked out on [[Labor strike|strike]]. Officials from American Enka Company then advertised for replacements of the striking workers. Tensions soon built when residents of Morristown and Lowland appeared at the gates of the Enka plant to apply for the listed jobs. Violence then followed, with shots fired, cars damaged, and one adjacent house destroyed by dynamite. The then-governor of Tennessee, [[Gordon Browning]], dispatched [[United States National Guard|National Guard]] troops to restore order at the Enka factory. By the end of the strike, and following acts of violence and vandalism, its story had become national front-page news, and on-site congressional hearings regarding labor relations and the labor movement were held in Morristown, led by [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] Senator [[Hubert Humphrey]].<ref name="strikeinquiry">{{cite news |title=SENATE INQUIRY SET IN TENNESSEE STRIKE |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1950/06/14/archives/senate-inquiry-set-in-tennessee-strike.html |access-date=November 17, 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=June 14, 1950}}</ref><ref name="henderson">{{cite web |last1=Henderson |first1=Cherel |title=American Enka and the Modern Labor Movement |url=https://www.easttnhistory.org/sites/default/files/traveling_enka.pdf |website=Museum of East Tennessee History |publisher=[[East Tennessee Historical Society]] |access-date=November 16, 2020}}</ref>

In 1985, the American Enka facility was acquired by [[BASF]] and continued under their operations until 1992, when it was sold to [[Lenzing AG]].<ref name="buerki"/> The plant closed in 2005, after the company that operated the plant, Liberty Fibers, filed for bankruptcy.<ref name="libertyclose"/> The plant site and its adjacent [[wastewater treatment]] plant have since been [[Municipal annexation in the United States|annexed]] into the Morristown [[city limits]].<ref name="libertyclose">{{Cite news|date=October 1, 2005|title=Liberty Fibers Corp. Closes Plant, Files For Bankruptcy Protection|work=The Greeneville Sun|url=https://www.greenevillesun.com/news/liberty-fibers-corp-closes-plant-files-for-bankruptcy-protection/article_34f9f483-3a5b-5581-82ba-058b2a40d81d.html|url-status=live|access-date=July 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729170303/https://www.greenevillesun.com/news/liberty-fibers-corp-closes-plant-files-for-bankruptcy-protection/article_34f9f483-3a5b-5581-82ba-058b2a40d81d.html|archive-date=July 29, 2020}}</ref>

====Industrial development====
Beginning in 1959, following then presidential candidate [[John F. Kennedy]]'s exposure to poverty in [[Appalachia]], Morristown officials began a joint effort with Tennessee [[economic development]] representatives to establish the city as a major industrial hub, and the program began with the construction and completion of the East Tennessee Valley Industrial District (ETVID) industrial park in eastern Morristown near [[Russellville, Tennessee|Russellville]].<ref name="newman">{{cite journal |last1=Newman |first1=Anne |editor1-last=Kendrick |editor1-first=Elise |title=The Recruiters and the Recruited: How One Town Filled an Industrial Park |journal=Appalachia |date=1981 |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=6–19 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eJMHJyHZ6V8C&q=Morristown |access-date=September 14, 2020 |publisher=[[Appalachian Regional Commission]] |location=[[University of California, Berkeley]] |language=en}}</ref> In 1962, the world's largest manufacturer of chains, the [[Jeffrey Manufacturing Company]] opened a plant to manufacture its steel thimble roller chains.<ref>{{cite news |title=Big chain maker chose Morristown over fifty possible plant sites, started in February |work=Morristown Gazette Mail |date=8 July 1962|page=14}}</ref>

By 1978, the {{convert|375|acre|km2}} ETVID industrial park had reached its estimated capacity, prompting city officials to develop a second industrial park.<ref name="newman"/> After acquiring a {{convert|670|acre|km2}} site in western Morristown near [[Morristown Regional Airport]] in the same year, city officials developed the site into the Morristown Airport Industrial District (MAID) industrial park in 1981.<ref name="newman"/> Five months after the park's completion, two companies opened facilities at the MAID.<ref name="newman"/> As overall economic prosperity continued to make gains in Morristown, city officials and development representatives have cited Morristown's industrial development initiative as an example of [[economic growth]]:<ref name="newman"/>

In the 1990s, the City of Morristown acquired over {{convert|900|acre|km2}} near [[Interstate 81 in Tennessee|Interstate 81]] exit 8 for its third industrial park, the East Tennessee Progress Center (ETPC).<ref name="etpc">{{cite web |title=Hamblen County - East Tennessee Progress Center |url=https://www.tn.gov/rural/resources/best-practices/site-development/hamblen-county---east-tennessee-progress-center.html |website=[[Tennessee|State of Tennessee]] |access-date=September 14, 2020}}</ref> Initial site development such as roadway and utility upgrades were completed in 2001.<ref name="etpc"/> Several large manufacturers opened facilities at the site, but further infrastructure upgrades, grading work, and property acquisition was done on the site throughout the 2000s and 2010s.<ref name="etpc"/><ref name="etpcgrant"/>

Following the [[2007-2012 global economic crisis]], Morristown saw the loss of one of its largest employers, Berkline, which closed after filing for [[Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code|Chapter 11 bankruptcy]] in 2011.<ref name="suddenexit">{{cite news |last1=Thomas |first1=Larry |title=Sudden exit for Berkline |url=https://www.furnituretoday.com/business-news/sudden-exit-for-berkline/ |access-date=October 1, 2020 |work=[[FurnitureToday]] |date=May 2, 2011}}</ref> The furniture manufacturer, which relocated to the city in 1937, eliminated 602 jobs and ended an era of Morristown being known as a predominately furniture manufacturing hub:<ref name="marcum closing">{{cite news |last1=Marcum |first1=Ed |title=Furniture maker Berkline closing Morristown operation |url=http://archive.knoxnews.com/news/local/furniture-maker-berkline-closing-morristown-operation-ep-405343135-357963621.html |access-date=October 1, 2020 |work=[[Knoxville News Sentinel]] |date=March 30, 2011}}</ref>

{{Blockquote
|text="For two or three generations, Morristown has been considered a furniture town, and this is the last of the major furniture operations here."
|author=Hamblen County Mayor Bill Brittain
|title="Furniture maker Berkline closing Morristown operation"
|source=''[[Knoxville News Sentinel]]'' (2011)
}}

In 2018, [[Belgium|Belgian]] bus manufacturer [[Van Hool]] announced the construction of a {{convert|500,000|sqft|m2}} facility at the ETPC (East Tennessee Progress Center), <ref name="etpc"/> one of the largest industrial development projects in the history of Morristown.<ref name="commissionerrolfe">{{cite web |title=Governor Haslam, Commissioner Rolfe announce Van Hool NV to establish first US manufacturing facility in Morristown |url=https://tnecd.com/news/governor-haslam-commissioner-rolfe-announce-van-hool-nv-to-establish-first-us-manufacturing-facility-in-morristown/ |website=Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development |publisher=[[Tennessee|State of Tennessee]] |access-date=September 14, 2020}}</ref><ref name="howington">{{cite news |last1=Howington |first1=Glenna |title=Anatomy of A Deal: Meet the Van Hools |url=https://www.citizentribune.com/special_sections/progress_edition_2019/anatomy-of-a-deal-meet-the-van-hools/article_8aa97afa-56fb-11e9-8e3a-8365a6f5ce48.html |access-date=September 14, 2020 |work=Citizen Tribune |date=April 4, 2019}}</ref> The project expects to create an estimated 650 jobs, over $47 million in private investment and an influx of interest of further [[industrial development]] in the Morristown area.<ref name="etpc"/><ref name="vanhool">{{cite web |title=Van Hool builds bus factory in Morristown, Tennessee, US |url=https://www.vanhool.be/en/news/van-hool-builds-bus-factory-in-morristown-tennessee-us |website=[[Van Hool]] |access-date=September 14, 2020 |date=April 12, 2018 }}</ref>

====Downtown emergence and the "Skymart" project====
{{See also|Morristown Main Street Historic District}}

By 1833, Morristown had its first post office and store located along Main Street.<ref name="registrationform"/> Fourteen years later, [[Railway|railroad lines]] were built, stimulating further commercial growth until the beginning of the [[American Civil War]].<ref name="registrationform"/> Morristown's Main Street district, measuring approximately {{convert|1|sqmi|km2}}, arose from the intersection of two railroad lines, gradually turning Morristown into wholesale/retail hub after the end of the Civil War.<ref name="registrationform"/>

At the start of the 20th century, new buildings were erected in the downtown area, including the Henry Street Post Office, the First National Bank Building, and the Princess Theater. The Princess Theater was the first theater in Morristown and showcased touring musical acts, ministerial shows, pageants, films, and special [[Grand Ole Opry]] performances. Following the opening of theaters in neighboring shopping complexes, the Princess Theater closed in 1982, and  was demolished in 1995.<ref name="registrationform"/>

Following the 1950s, the downtown district saw losses in revenue, as a suburban shopping mall on the city's west side jeopardized businesses downtown. The city developed a plan to modernize Main Street by creating an "overhead sidewalk" as part of the nationwide push for [[urban renewal]] projects, enabling businesses to form on the second floor of existing buildings while serving as a canopy for passage below. Building owners spent nearly $2 million ($16 million today) upgrading their properties and linking them to ramps, while the government contributed over $5 million to build the elevated walkways.<ref name="registrationform"/> The underground channel for Turkey Creek was also enlarged and rerouted. In 1962, Turkey Creek, which bisects the street, flooded and damaged the downtown commercial district. The project was completed in 1967, becoming the first second-story sidewalk system in an American city.<ref name="nytmart">{{cite news |title=Second-Story Sidewalks Are Built in Tennessee City; Downtown Skymart in Morristown Held First in Nation |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/05/21/archives/secondstory-sidewalks-are-built-in-tennessee-city-downtown-skymart.html |access-date=January 1, 2021 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=May 21, 1967}}</ref> Over time, the Skymart has served as little more than a remnant of the idealism of 1960s urban renewal projects. Despite the aftermath of the project, the overhead sidewalks still stand in the downtown area.<ref name="summary">{{cite web|title=Morristown Main Street Historic District|url= https://www.nps.gov/nr/feature/places/16000120.htm|access-date=November 1, 2018|website=NPS.gov}}</ref><ref name="visit">{{cite web |title=History and Heritage |url=https://www.visitmorristowntn.com/history-heritage |website=Visit Morristown, Tennessee |access-date=July 23, 2020}}</ref>

Morristown is embarking on a resurrection of the Skymart, eyeing the structure as a key [[redevelopment]] tool for turning downtown into a social and commercial hub. It has been made a key element in a greenway master plan along Turkey Creek, with plans to connect downtown Morristown to Cherokee Park and [[Cherokee Lake]].<ref name="tcgreeenway">{{cite web |title=Turkey Creek Greenway |url=https://www.mymorristown.com/departments/community_development/special_projects/turkey_creek_greenway.php |website=City of Morristown |access-date=September 14, 2020}}</ref><ref name="greeenwayrelocate">{{cite news |last1=Moore |first1=Robert |title=Greenway path relocation resulted in contract extension |url=https://www.citizentribune.com/news/local/greenway-path-relocation-resulted-in-contract-extension/article_1ff83128-4cbb-11e9-ac91-0323d987a580.html |access-date=September 17, 2020 |work=Citizen Tribune |date=March 22, 2019}}</ref> In an effort to renew public interest, city officials, the Crossroads Downtown Partnership, and the Morristown Area Chamber of Commerce hold events in the city's downtown or the "Skymart District" throughout the year, mainly during the warmer months of May to September.<ref>{{cite web|title=Our Story {{!}} Historic Downtown Morristown, TN - Timeless Shopping. Dining. & Entertainment.|url=https://downtownmorristown.city/historic-downtown-morristown-tn/|website=downtownmorristown.city|access-date=February 6, 2018}}</ref>