CANNON COUNTY, Tenn. (WTVF) — A beloved Cannon County school that closed its doors in recent years has found new life, thanks to a couple from California who bought the property and turned it into both a home and a community gathering place.
Anita Arnold spent more than 40 years at Short Mountain School — first as a student in grades 1 through 8, then as a teacher for 33 years, and eventually as principal. When the school closed, the community feared what might become of it.
"We didn't want anything to happen to the building," Arnold said. "We would have loved for the school to stay because we feel like the school is the heart of the community."
Mike and Lisa Stolt, originally from the Orange County area of Los Angeles, California, purchased the 23,000-square-foot building and have made part of it their home — converting the cafeteria into a dining room and transforming former classrooms into living spaces.
"Well, the school found us," Mike Stolt said.
But the Stolts say they never intended to keep the space to themselves, especially since the building has such history in the community.
"You can't live in 23,000 square feet and not share it," Lisa said.
The couple has opened the school to the community for events and festivals. The gym has hosted homeschool physical education classes, and the walls still display reminders of the building's history.
For Arnold, walking through the halls again brings back decades of memories — including the classroom where both she and her mother once taught.
"I can come in here and I still have memories like you said, I'm smiling because there's a lot of memories," Arnold said.
She also recalled the lighter moments from her years there, including when a former student took her car keys from her desk and began sounding the car horn outside.
For a community where longtime residents worry that growth has eroded the closeness they once shared, the school's revival carries deeper meaning.
"Now that we have people moving in, we don't know each other," Arnold said, reflecting on the change in the area. "We're not coming together to find out about each other and that's what we miss with the school."
The Stolts say they came to Short Mountain with a clear sense of purpose. After visiting Tennessee in the last handful of years, they felt this pace of life was the right fit at the right tiem.
"We came here knowing it's a school," Mike said. "It's gotta be a public gathering place."
Arnold said the transformation has exceeded her expectations.
"You would have never dreamed that classrooms would look like this," she said while walking through one of the former classrooms turned bedroom. "This is beautiful."
She added that the outcome could have been far different.
"It could have been made into a factory, it could have been different things," she said. "But these are people that are inviting us into where they live."
For the Stolts, the hope is that curiosity about the old school becomes something more lasting.
"I think initially people want to come here because they want to see what it is, but I'm hoping they come and they stay," Lisa Stolt said.
Arnold agreed.
"And we can come in and share our memories with them," Arnold said.
The community still identifies with the spirit that carried them through the school's final years.
The Stolts plan on serving the community with a cafe, and continuing to host community events and gatherings.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Young or old, we all love to play board and card games! Those games become even more important when you are indoors and don't have the ability to get outside, like patients in a hospital. Austin Pollack shares the story of students in a Nashville family who have helped re-launch the Red Wagon project to collect games for patients at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt.
- Lelan Statom
