Lon Morris mineral interests sell for $1.4M

JACKSONVILLE, CHEROKEE COUNTY – Lon Morris College’s mineral interests, originally believed to be worth $300,000, have been sold for more than $1.375 million to a group of East Texas oil men.

If the sale goes through, the college will walk away with $300,000, and lender Texas National Bank, which is waiving $2.8 million in claims, will receive barely more than $1 million.

Lon Morris, the state’s oldest junior college, filed a voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition in July 2012. In August, the college learned it would lose federal student aid and subsequently decided to suspend the fall semester.

An auction was held in January, which resulted in the college’s buildings being purchased by Jacksonville ISD and 11 x 17 Inc.

Jacksonville ISD’s paid $1.53 million for the gymnasium, administration building and more than 50 acres of land. That includes ten acres around the gymnasium as well as about 40 acres in the area of the baseball and softball fields. 11 x 17 Inc. bought most of the school’s academic buildings, the chapel and dormitories.

Read more at the Tyler Morning Telegraph.