(The Center Square) – State and local leaders will consider a new site for a psychiatric hospital that serves 52 counties in east Tennessee.
Gov. Bill Lee said an ongoing archeological review found that 73% of the state-owned site in Chattanooga is a “multi-component archaeological site containing buried layers of historic and precontact materials, occupation surfaces, and features.”
The survey found no human remains or burials, but the site could contain some, according to the review. New South Associates conducted the study using minimally invasive techniques, according to Christi Branscom, commissioner of Tennessee’s Department of General Services.
The Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute was founded in 1961, and this was the first archeological review, according to Lee.
“Through this process, we have learned what we needed to know to make this important decision,” said Patsy Hazlewood, R-Signal Mountain. “Improved and increased mental health services are still a critical and urgent need for our community and our state. Now we must focus our efforts on how and where to best meet those needs going forward.”