Pressmen's Home Tennessee

In late January of 2006 ETPRS' new President looked into an old request from a family living in Pressman's Home TN .The family was experiencing some rather strange happenings. A date was set for late March. The date fell through due to outsiders not wanting us there. On April 1st 2006 ETPRS' President (Tracy) along with investigators Marshall, Sean and Donna went to investigate. They met the family at around 2pm in the private residence. This was an investigation that none of the investigators will ever forget. Every one of the investigators were extremely drained when they left the home each complaining of a headache. Marshall had what felt like extreme pressure pushing on his head while in the home. Right after this Tracy was overcome with nausea and had to leave the room . Donna and Tracy both keep hearing a low pitch hum the whole time we were there. During the reveal at the home the investigators called down the light so that any spirit there could go on. The evps from the circle of prayer to bring down the light were amazing .They can be found on our sister groups site (Friendly-Ghosts). The family stated that night after we left a bowl and spoon came flying out of the kitchen and into the living room, we must have made something mad letting its captives go to the light ..On one trip Tracy and the group demonologist were at the home and something kept making Tracy very sick, when he would go outside he would be fine but upon entering the house it would start again. The Demonologist left the group shortly after this visit. Tracy pursued the case for a little over a year and still remains in contact with the family. The Family has since left Pressman's home area due to the Paranormal activity in the home. The private residence is now abandoned and the family have allowed me to put up the google map so that one can see the area we were in. It was a different kind of feeling, being watched by unseen spirits and people. Below is a history of the area take from Harry Burton's webpage along with some of the evidence collected from the investigation.

Pressmen's Home Tennessee is located between Knoxville and Kingsport. It was the headquarters for the International Printing Pressmen and Assistants Union of North America. It was established in 1911 by George L. Berry. The union provided a Trade School to train union members in all aspects of printing. The Trade School housed both letter-press and offset presses as early as 1912, it also provided training in Pre-Press and Bindery. Many young men came to Pressmen's Home from all over the United States and Canada to train in their profession. The Home Building was built in 1911. It was already in the construction stages when IPP&AU moved the headquarters to Pressmen's Home. It was built to house the visitors at Sulpher Springs. The building was home to many of the International officers while at Pressmen's Home. After the new hotel was completed in 1926 it became The Home, much like apartment complexes of today. It was equipped with a kitchen, dining room, pool room, and many other luxuries. The building is in ruins today. The Administration Building was built in 1912 and was the original location of the Trade School Building. After the new school was built in 1947 it housed the executive offices of the International president and secretary-treasurer. The Membership Records Department, the Accounting Department, the Service Bureau and the editorial offices were also housed in the building. The red roofed structure in the foreground marks the site of the sulphur spring which was famous in the early years. This building remains today, however hasn't been occupied since the 1970's. The Sanatorium was built in 1916. In the early years of printing it was thought that ink was a cause for contracting tuberculosis. Pressmen's Home was interested in the welfare of the union members. The hospital was completely staffed, adequately equipped, and ideally situated for combating this deadly disease. The climate in the mountains was thought to relieve the discomfort. Members who contacted the disease could come to Pressmen's Home at no charge. Many are buried in the cemetery at Pressmen's Home. The building was demolished in 1960's. The Natatorium was built in 1920. Union members were spending much of their vacation time at Pressmen's Home so the International built many recreational facilities to add to their enjoyment. The Natatorium housed an open air swimming pool and a beautiful flower garden. The employees formed The Happy Valley Club to develop their own source of entertainment also. Between the two, Pressmen's Home offered a large lake for fishing and boating, picnic grounds, tennis courts, croquet, miniature golf, horseback riding, horseshoes, ping-pong, and many other forms of entertainment. The four-story Hotel Pressuaina was built in 1926 to accommodate the many Union members and their families that came to Pressmen's Home to train at the Technical Trade School. The outside was made from sandstone which was removed from a quarry located on the premises. The lobby had a beautiful tile floor and an adjacent reading room. Delicious home cooked meals were prepared in the modern kitchen. The food was indeed home grown. Pressmen's Home had a dairy farm for milk, chickens for eggs and poultry, a huge vegetable garden and even a hog lot for the pork. Most of the rooms were decorated with iron beds and dressers. The screened-in porch to the left was a smoking area. The hotel was destroyed in October 1994 by arson. The Memorial Chapel was built in 1926. This non-denominational church was erected as a in honor of IPP&AU members who served in World War I, later being dedicated to those who served in United States and Canadian uniform since that time. The chapel was built of native sandstone. It was thought to be the only church owned by a labor union. Outside the chapel in a garden stood the press that the union symbol was designed after. Major Berry was buried in a mausoleum to the left of the chapel. It still stands today. Major Berry's body was removed in late 1976 after vandals tried to break into the mausoleum. He is now interred in an undisclosed cemetery in town. The Trade School was built in 1948. It was the cornerstone of a vast educational and training program at Pressman's Home. The school housed over $500,000 in presses and equipment. The school provided training in letterpress, gravure, and offset presses, ink mixing, camera, stripping, plate making, color separation, and bindery operations. All of the equipment was provided to Pressman's Home by the manufacture on a loan basis. This trade school was what set the IPP&AU apart from the other unions. Trainees were required to have been in the union for five years, however many local boys were allowed to train at the school at no charge without any experience. Many of these men are still in the printing industry today. Pressmen's Home's baseball team was second to none. The local boys honed their skills at the field located in front of the Office Building. The field was kept in excellent condition by the grounds crew. Some say the field was the best in the area and would rather play the game at Pressmen's Home than anywhere. The Pressmen played local teams from Rogersville, Surgoinsville, and other surrounding areas, besting most of them. However the one team which had their number was Brushy Mountain State Prison. According to Harry Burton when a homerun was hit all the prisoners would ask the warden if they could get the ball, you see, the wall was indeed the wall. Pressmen's Home had it all. They produced their own electricity, water supply, telephone system, grew all the vegetables, had a dairy farm, hogs were slaughtered for pork, totally self sufficient. They employed plumbers, painters, carpenters, maintenance men, electricians, cooks, farm hands, life guards, almost everything. They owned over 2,000 acres. And produced the best quality printers in the world. Move to DC. What is happening? Why are you leaving? Please don't go! This was the cries from all the employees and many International officials in 1969 when Pressmen's Home moved to Washington D.C. Their lives were changed forever. The move was supposed to help the union keep strong labor ties in Washington D.C. We need to be where we can be heard, so the lobbyist can fight for the Printing Union. It didn't happen that way. Soon after the move IPP&AU merged with other communication unions to try to keep it's membership strong. But they no longer had anything to give to the new printing shops to become union. No Trade School, no Sanatorium for Tuberculosis, no vacation or retirement home, only a few rented offices in a large metropolitan area. Printing exploded in the 1970's, many shops were built in every town across America. With nothing to offer, new printing shops were not organized. And what about today, would Pressmen's Home not have been the idea place to teach the new technological changes we have experienced as printers? With so many strippers being retrained on Macintosh computers, image setters and DTP. The new console color presses. The leap web printing has experienced. Did our leaders lead us wrong? YES! If the union had stayed put, there is no doubt the International Printing Pressmen and Assistants' Union would be the strongest union in North America. Today the IPP&AU doesn't even exist. I guess we all lost. Camelot... The name sounded like it could indeed be the savior for the community. Just think, Camelot, we could once again be a thriving community. A group of men bought Pressmen's Home, changed the name, and attempted to erect what was once here. The company promised to build a vacation community where families could buy land, build homes, and vacation in these beautiful mountains. Only a few houses were built and greed took it's course. Many of the lots were on the side of the steep hills, unfit for goats much less man. Lawsuits followed and soon the land was left empty yet again. The bank foreclosed on the company and tried in vain to sell the property. The only buyer was Camelot Golf and Country Club which is now closed. Pressman's Home Today. Most of the buildings that were at Pressmen's Home were destroyed by fire, in ruins, or were demolished before the move. The Trade School, Administration Building, Chapel, and the Dairy Barn are the only large buildings left standing. In 1977 the State of Tennessee attempted to purchase the property to convert it into a minimum security penitentiary. The Dairy Barn is now the site of the club house of Camelot Golf and Country Club.

History from Harry and Steve Burton's web site webpages.charter.net/pressmenshome/index.html