Johnson City Tennessee The campus of East Tennessee State University is located in Johnson City, TN. The ghost of Sydney Gilbreath has been seen by many in Gilbreath Hall , he was the founding president of the university that opened in 1911.. Christine Burleson an English teacher that taught Shakespere here until she put a gun to her head and killed herself -- is said to haunt Mathes Hall as are there many other ghosts through out this University