Doug Grim gazed into the distance under a cloudless September sky on Thursday morning as he stood on a walkway that encircles the cupola atop historic College Hall.
The five-story, red-brick building sits at the heart of Merom Camp and Retreat Center’s leafy, 27-acre campus in rural Sullivan County.
“Vision” aptly captures that moment. The long view can be seen from there.
College Hall stands on the same plateau as the famous Merom Bluff, 200 feet above the Wabash River. The 1859-era structure’s white cupola is 128 feet above ground level. Grim, the center’s executive director, is tall guy himself.
So, his outlook from that vantage point extended across the Wabash Valley hills of Sullivan County and into the flat expanse of Crawford County, Illinois.
The vision goes beyond mere geography, too. Grim and the staff at the 501©(3) nonprofit Merom Camp and Retreat Center envision a renovation of College Hall — the centerpiece of the campus — and an updated mission for serving the community and region.
Beth Reed and David Grim smiling outside Merom College Hall.JPG
Beth Reed and David Grim stand in front of historic College Hall at the Merom Camp and Retreat Center in rural Sullivan County. Reed serves as president of the center’s board of directors, while Grim is its executive director.
They’re hoping renewed interest and awareness of the facility comes from Indiana Landmarks’ decision to include the 165-year-old College Hall on its 10 Most Endangered Landmarks of 2024 list. Indiana Landmarks put College Hall alongside other vulnerable structures, such as Bethlehem Healing Temple in Gary, Rudicel-Montgomery Polygonal Barn in Waldron, Sollman School near Fort Branch, Sposeep & Sons Building in Wabash, West Side Recreation Club in South Bend, Historic Fraternal Lodges in Indianapolis and statewide, International Harvester Engineering Building in Fort Wayne, Starr Historical District in Richmond, and State Theatre in Anderson.
Merom’s College Hall remains in use. Camps, retreats, weddings, reunions and other events continue at the structure, placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966.
“But repair needs exceed what the nonprofit organization can afford,” Indiana Landmarks’ August statement said. “The building’s deferred maintenance is causing more serious issues.” Those include crumbling and fallen masonry, window leaks, plumbing problems and failing mechanical systems.
Grim said the goal for Merom Center is to pursue large capital improvement grants from state, private and philanthropic groups. “We’re looking for major sponsors who are seeing the significance of this.”
Instead of deterioration, Grim believes a vibrant transformation could unfold for College Hall. Grim — who’s varied background includes years as a community-development construction manager and United Church of Christ minister, and a knack for reciting Robert Louis Stevenson poetry — recently visited the unique 1902-era West Baden Hotel, which was renovated in 2006-07 in French Lick.
tornado damage to spire on Merom College Hall roof.JPG
A catastrophic EF-3 tornado that hit Sullivan County in 2023 also damaged a spire atop the historic College Hall at the Merom Camp and Retreat Center. That damage and other repairs are targeted for a future renovation effort.
“We have our own uniqueness here,” Grim said.
Indeed, construction on College Hall began two years before the Civil War. Local materials were used, from the wood to the stones, bricks, mortar sand, water and metals. Work halted once the war began, but folklore indicates soldiers resumed some construction on the college until its completion in 1863.
The resulting Union Christian College educated students from Indiana and beyond, conferring bachelor’s and, for awhile, master’s degrees. Merom was one of the first colleges in the country, and Indiana, where women could study the same courses offered to men. Its alumni includes landscape and portrait artist William Turman, namesake of a gallery at Indiana State University in Terre Haute.
A brick gymnasium, still intact, was built in 1919 and is undoubtedly one of Indiana’s oldest.
The campus’s college years ended in 1924, when the cost of meeting state standards grew too large, but the campus eventually found a new purpose as an agricultural resource — similar to modern-day Purdue Extension offices — and as a retreat and events center. During World War II, conscientious objectors to the war and Shakers — a utopian religious sect — built cabins on the campus. From 1941-1943, it was a base camp for the Soil Conservation Service, housing those conscientious objectors, who worked on farm infrastructure.
“Union Christian College has birthed many things,” said Merom Center board president Beth Reed, who joined Grim in leading this columnist through a College Hall tour on Thursday. “It has a heritage, but I feel this college needs to be saved to continue her birthing.”
David in Merom College Hall theater.JPG
An original chapel has since long served as a theater in the Merom Camp and Retreat Center's College Hall. Center Executive Director David Grim walks through the theater, which hosted youth performances this summer.
A post-pandemic fundraising effort, guided by Reed, enabled the center to meet expenses and continue. (The center’s connection to the United Church of Christ ended in 2016.) “It was the community,” Reed said of the successful drive.
Being added to Indiana Landmarks 10 Most Endangered Landmarks list enables the group to share more widely its hopes for an expanded mission.
The broad plan is to do an assessment of the campus’s heritage and structures; work to get all of the structures on campus listed on the National Register; serve mental health and recovery groups; bring in local cultural and social activities, such as euchre nights; and serve the arts community, as its events center role. The facility’s faith, educational, and agricultural history will shape those plans, too, Grim said.
Along with its services and history, the actual structure of College Hall is distinct. Its Romanesque Revival architectural style includes tall bay windows on all floors, a wooden spiral staircase leading from the fifth floor to the cupola, a historic library with many, many relic books and a chapel-turned-theater, among other amenities.
The people who’ve walked its halls in the past, now and in the future come from diverse backgrounds. That won’t change, but will be emphasized.
“Whoever you are, and wherever you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here,” Grim said.
