Built by Students

As an undergraduate student at Wilmington College, in Wilmington Ohio, I had the pleasure of working on an Ohio Historical Marker project for Marble Hall. Marble hall is located on the Wilmington College campus next to the Pyle Student Center and Austin-Pickett Hall.

If you are a student at Wilmington College you more than likely know the story behind Marble Hall. No it’s not haunted (although it could possibly be) and it doesn't live up to its nickname (since the college made it a co-ed dorm my junior year) it has a fascinating story from the idea behind its construction to the community effort to make it a reality.

After World War II the G.I. Bill sent hundreds of returning soldiers back to school. In 1944 enrollment at Wilmington College was at low rate of roughly 140 students with 90 percent of them being female. After the war ended new students flooded the campus and the 1946 enrollment numbers jumped to 550 students. This caused a student housing crisis. Male students slept on cots and took showers in Hermann Court the basketball arena. The issue needed to be addressed, but there were no funds to build a new dormitory. After the president of the college, Sam Marble, called for the college community to help build the dormitory, students, faculty, and staff broke ground on the soon to be Marble Hall on April 13, 1948. The building was completed in 1950 with all the labor volunteered and materials donated.

Wilmington College embarked on many self-help projects during Sam Marble’s presidency at WC. Marble Hall was the first of these projects. Marble Hall services Wilmington College with the same purpose as it did 62 years ago. Centered near the middle of the quad Marble is home to many students and has seen few modifications over its life time.