In 1959 the doors opened to a hospital situated on 2.3 acres in South Pittsburg, Tennessee. This 68,000 square foot medical facility, founded by four doctors, was known as the South Pittsburg Municipal Hospital (SPMH). Additions to the hospital were built prior to 1980. This bastion of healing would serve the community for almost 40 years before closing its doors for the last time in 1998.

In April of 1997, Hospital Corp. of America (HCA), at the time the nation's largest hospital chain, held the groundbreaking for Grandview Medical Center in Jasper, Marion County. According to HCA, which has also used the name Columbia, the new 50 bed, 95,000 square foot, medical facility was developed to replace the long serving and aging medical center in South Pittsburg.

The loss of their hospital dismayed many in the community who felt that the new hospital should also be located in South Pittsburg. On November 14, 1995 the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported that "the city sued in Marion County Chancery Court to force the manager of its hospital to disclose whether it intends to close the non-profit hospital." The mayor of the city at that time, David Payne worried that "Columbia has refused repeated requests that it assure the city that it does not intend to buy South Pittsburg Hospital and close it to prevent competition with the one Columbia plans to build just outside the city." At that time, Columbia, which had managed SPMH for several years, had only agreed to pay $50,000 for the equity in the hospital. The article suggests that Columbia may have been interested in the acquisition of SPMH to acquire its Certificate of Need for beds, which would assist them in obtaining the state approval needed to build Grandview. Over the disapproval of many in the South Pittsburg community, the new $30 million hospital eventually opened its doors to great fanfare the week of September 29, 1998, while the long serving nonprofit hospital quietly closed its doors.

Over the years since its closing, there have been many reports of unusual activity relayed by South Pittsburgs residents. Three years ago, the owner, Dr. Hayes has allowed Paranormal Investigation teams to come into the locked environment to see if they could capture some of this reported activity. Since then, a lot of evidence has been coming out of the Old South Pittsburg Hospital of paranormal activity. This activity includes but not limited to pictures, full body apparitions, black shadows, disembodied voices, doors slamming of their own will, and sounds of footsteps. Upon a couple of years research, some of the former employees have come forward with their own experiences while working here when it was open. Many have reported things moving in the hallways, such as medicine carts, shadows, and many times the security was called thinking there was an intruder during the 3rd shift because they heard voices. Come to find out that there was no one there. There seems to be many souls that still remain within the walls of the Old South Pittsburg Hospital. The Hospital is located on a foothill in South Pittsburg, TN with Limestone rock as a foundation. Some say this can amplify the paranormal activity.

Many patients checked in but never checked out! Do you dare walk the halls of The Old South Pittsburg Hospital

*History provided by The Ghost Writers http://www.theghost-writers.com/