grade some years, continuing through twelfth grade. Some years a "post-graduate" curriculum was also offered. Due to financial problems, TMI finally closed for good in 1988 after 114 years of continuous operation. This was in spite of financial backing from actor Burt Reynolds, whose nephew attended the school. Tennessee Meiji Gakuin High School The campus was acquired by Tennessee Meiji Gakuin High School (テネシー明治学院高等部, Teneshī Meiji Gakuin Kōtōbu, TMG) and opened as such in 1989. The purpose of the school was to provide a Japanese-style education for the children of Japanese persons temporarily living in the United States. Due to declining enrollment, in large part caused by the September 11 attacks, TMG closed in 2007. Later years In 2011, the campus was given as a gift to a group called the Sweet Water Sustainability Institute. The validity of this transaction was later successfully challenged in court, and ownership of the property was transferred to Enota Institute Inc. The campus has been vacant since 2007, and the buildings have fallen into disrepair. In 2015, the campus was included on the annual "Endangered Heritage" list of the East Tennessee Preservation Alliance as an endangered historic building and/or place. Not surprisingly based on its age, the abandoned campus has drawn the attention of devotees of the supernatural. In April 2017, Paul Gaffney, formerly of the Harlem Globetrotters, announced plans to acquire the campus and open the Gaffney Athletics Prep Academy. According to Gaffney, it would be the first charter high school to combine an emphasis on athletics with science, technology, engineering, and math, with projected enrollment of 600 students. However, these plans quickly fell through. A fire was reported on the campus on May 7, 2020, causing further damage. Notable alumni D. Mead Johnson, chief executive of Mead Johnson (a dormitory at the school carried his name) North Callahan, American journalist, historian, and scholar Butch Baker, country music singer (he performed at the TMG grand opening) Jay Baker (Butch's younger brother), actor and television host James Emmert, Indiana Attorney General and Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court Dale Jones, American football coach Weston Ochse, internationally award-winning author References Educational institutions established in 1874 Educational institutions disestablished in 1988 Buildings and structures in Monroe County, Tennessee Defunct schools in Tennessee Education in Monroe County, Tennessee 1874 establishments in Tennessee