{"nrhp_refnum":"73001399","name":"College Hall, Wilmington College","other_names":["Founders' Hall"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"E of College St. between Douglas St. and Fife Ave. on Wilmington","address_restricted":false,"city":"Wilmington","county":"Clinton County","state":"OH","lat":39.44485117600004,"lon":-83.81832381399994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-04-23","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"College Hall (also called Founders' Hall) is a red brick Italianate building with a four-story tower on the Wilmington College campus in Wilmington, Clinton County, Ohio. Construction began in 1866 and classes were first held there in 1871.","why_significant":"The nomination cites the building as a good example of the Italianate round-arched type, with good proportions and a pleasant site. It also notes the hall's unique place in Ohio education history, since Wilmington College is described as the only college ever bought at auction.","narrative":"College Hall is a red brick Italianate building on the Wilmington College campus in Wilmington, Ohio. A four-story tower, 18 feet square, projects from the front, and all windows and doors are arched. Bracketed cornices extend about three feet, and the tile roof is carried on large timbers. The walls are a foot thick and bear the building's weight. Construction began in 1866 for Franklin College, which had moved from New Albany to Wilmington in 1865 and raised subscriptions for a building. Lack of funds stopped completion, and in 1870 the Society of Friends bought the college at auction. The nomination says Wilmington College is the only college ever bought this way. First classes met in the hall in 1871, and the college was chartered in 1875. The architect is unknown because the college lacks Franklin College's records. The hall once held classrooms, a library, a chapel, laboratories and a president's residence. Today all three floors serve as classrooms and offices.","period_of_significance":"1866-1871","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Italianate","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as in good condition and altered; all three floors are now used for classrooms and offices.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:10.221307-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/73001399.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73001399/248fcdd62b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73001399/248fcdd62b-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:College_Hall_at_Wilmington_College.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:College_Hall_at_Wilmington_College.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71987174","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q137617439"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/clinton-county/college-hall-wilmington-college-73001399/"}