TOP PHOTO: A La Follette Public Works crew begins the shutdown of one lane of traffic ahead of the razing of the Balloff home on Monday morning.

By Charlie Hutson

LAFOLLETTE, TN (WLAF) – The February morning when the Balloff home burned in 2021 was a sad time, especially for those of us of a certain age, and the razing of the structure on Monday morning closed a memorable chapter in La Follette history.

It was about 10:30 Monday morning when crews with the La Follette Public Works and Police Departments started to move traffic over to one lane of East Central Avenue in the 500 block. Soon, the demolition of what remained of the Louis and Esther Balloff home was underway.

The last section of the front of the once Balloff home comes down.

The entire structure was on the ground by 11am and clean up started immediately. The home that sat on that hill for decades caught fire in the early morning of February 14 (2021), and the fire caused extensive damage.

Gaither Medley of Medley Farms handled the razing of the structure, and this is the site view after the demo is on the ground.

The Balloff family was a cornerstone of the community for upwards of a hundred years. Louis Balloff was a brilliant businessman and founded Balloff’s Department Store in La Follette. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 11/01/2022-6AM-PHOTOS COURTESY OF WLAF’S CHARLIE HUTSON)

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