NATCHEZ &045;&045; Those who watched, and those who didn’t, knew history was going up in flames Monday night and for some, it wasn’t an easy thing to take in.

&uot;I don’t feel so good about what has happened,&uot; said James Earl Gray, a former president of Natchez College. &uot;It’s got me speechless.&uot;

Gray, who started as the dean of academic affairs at the historically black college and served as president for five years, said he worked hard to make the college a historical landmark.

&uot;If you go back into the history of it, it was built for black children all over the state of Mississippi,&uot; Gray said. &uot;Students that were prohibited elsewhere.&uot;

The school opened to students in 1885 and closed in the early 1990s.

It was founded by the State Baptist Convention and is still owned by the General Missionary Baptist State Convention. The college provided classes for high school and college students.

The college’s buildings, a chapel/dormitory, a men’s dorm, a day care center, a women’s auxiliary building, the president’s house and the gym, have been vacant during most of the time since the school’s closure.

In 2003 the M.B. State Convention asked for permission to demolish the buildings. The Historic Preservation Commission denied the request. The convention’s plans for the site included a new retreat center with chapel, amphitheater, conference center and athletic areas.

Alderwoman Joyce Arceneaux-Mathis was on the scene watching the building located closest to College Street burn.

&uot;We didn’t vote for it to be torn down because of its historical significance,&uot; Arceneaux said. &uot;In hopes they would not tear it down, but revitalize it. This whole block has historical significance to the black community. No, it’s not a happy day.&uot;

Alderman Rickey Gray, the son of James Earl Gray, said he too appreciated the historical significance of the building, but would like to see the area cleaned up.

&uot;Lately the place has just been sitting there,&uot; Rickey Gray said. &uot;It is in every violation the city has. Maybe this is a wakeup call to the Baptist association.&uot;

Gray, the alderman for the area containing the college, said he’d heard numerous complaints from neighbors who wanted the buildings torn down. Gray said it would be easy to get into the abandoned buildings at any time.

&uot;This is a dangerous situation, we really don’t know what happened here,&uot; he said. &uot;If they aren’t going to do something positive with this college right away they need to board up every building.&uot;

Natchez Fire Chief Paul Johnson said the cause of the fire would be investigated by NFD and the state fire marshal’s office.