PETERSBURG, Tenn. (WTVF) — A lot of us have a special place in our hearts for our hometown. When one man saw a chance to help out his roots, he took it.
"My great grandfather was on the building committee in 1919," said Warren Gill. "They really knew how to build things in those days."
Truly, the old building where Warren Gill sat and shared his story has such deep ties to his family.
"I went to school here, my parents, my grandparents," he said. "It ceased being a high school in the early 70s."
Warren grew up in Petersburg, part of both Lincoln and Marshall counties.
After his years teaching at UT and MTSU, Warren returned to Petersburg to find it'd grown rather quiet.
"An agricultural community, we had a really stout economy through the 1800s and the first half of the 1900s, and then, the bypass missed us," he said. "We lost the railroad."
Warren thought maybe he could play a role in the revitalization of Petersburg. He started by buying the old school building. He moved the library in there, working with librarian Carol Lee.
"This is the Morgan Cultural Center now," she said.
Several small businesses have taken the space.
"The surrounding areas do not have very many faith-related businesses," said Teresa Crabtree who runs Graceful Gifts 4 Jesus.
"This is Sage's Kids' Corner," said another store owner, Zoey Altman. "It's a resale, new and used consignment shop."
Investors got involved in Petersburg, reworking the town. More restaurants and a park are on the way.
"Miss Jean opened Miss Jean's sandwich and ice cream shop," Warren said. "The first weekend, she had 450 people show up."
What Warren loves about all of this happening is he found others ready to put in the work to bring about a new day for Petersburg.
"I feel like the most blessed person in the whole world," he said.
"A lot of the community's starting to come together," said Zoey. "Just being involved and seeing how much people want to change, it's amazing to be a part of."
"A lot of what you see here was done in the volunteer spirit," Warren said. "Everything going on in Petersburg is everybody working together to do a lot of good."
