Kenyon College

Kenyon College and part of Gambier Village occupy the crown of Gambier Hill, about 200 feet above the Kokosing River. Bishop Philander Chase chose the site in July 1825 for the college he founded in 1824, the first private college in Ohio. Work on Old Kenyon began in 1826, and Middle Path was laid out under President Douglas as a replacement for the original grand avenue plan. Early frame buildings were replaced by structures of local light brown sandstone in the Gothic revival style, with pointed arch windows, buttresses, crenellations and pinnacles. Notable buildings include Old Kenyon, Rosse Hall, Bexley Hall, Ascension Hall and the Church of the Holy Spirit. Designers included Henry Roberts, William Tinsley and C.F. Schweinfurth. Kenyon was the only Ohio college of the early 19th century to build in this style, and its campus is described as the state's most unified Gothic revival college campus. Some later buildings, such as Chalmers Library, are less sympathetic to the older fabric.