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Wilson Hall (Miami University)

Miami University of Ohio has beautiful brick buildings filled with history. Some of these buildings were present not long after Miami University was established in 1809. Currently most of the buildings on campus either house classrooms or dorm rooms. A building that has an interesting past is Wilson Hall located on Miami’s East Quad. Wilson Hall is currently being used for dormitories for both male and female first-year students. Students of Miami did not reside in Wilson Hall when it was originally built as The Pines.

History
In 1882, before Miami was the main attraction to Oxford, Ohio, “The Oxford Retreat” was present. “The Oxford Retreat” “was a private hospital for the treatment of mental and nervous diseases, alcoholic, and narcotic inebriety". There were several buildings that made up the hospital. The main building, which was erected at the cost of $100,000, contained one hundred and forty-four rooms for patients. The main building, which was later turned into Fisher Hall, is now what is known as the Marcum Conference Center. The annex to the Retreat was called The Pines. The Pines was set apart from the main building to house women who were not only affected mentally, but who also had “nervous disorders, alcoholic, or narcotic addiction”. The Pines was completed in June, 1926. The fireproof building consists of native blue limestone with a red tile roof. After Miami bought the main building of The Oxford Retreat, to make into Fisher Hall in 1925, The Pines became the main and only building used for the sanatorium.

Purchasing The Pines
During the expansion of Miami University of Ohio, The Pines became a huge interest to include in the Miami’s campus. Contract for lease and purchase was for the Oxford Retreat property, “the Pines, consisting of 14.67 acres, one large building, two cottages and a residence”. The contract was signed on July 17, 1936. The large building was to be used “as a dormitory for seventy students”. The residence that was included in the purchase belonged to Dr Harvey ad Mrs. Bessie Cook. Dr. and Mrs. Cook were able to reside there for the remainder of their lifetime for an annual rental of $5,000. The contract for the lease and purchase was put together by, W.P. Roudebush and trustees. It stated that the property was to be leased for ten years at $5,000 per year, at the end of the ten years it was to be purchased for $110,000. The amount of $110,000 would be paid over a ten year span in cash or notes. These conditions were finalized with the signatures of A.H Upham, W.P Roudebush, and Dr. and Mrs. Cook.

Dorm Usage
After $20,025.94 of remodeling, Wilson, still known as the Pines, began to house students. The building was constantly changing from all female to all men’s dorms through the years, Fall 1936-Spring 1940: Women’s dorm Fall 1940-Spring 1941: Men’s dorm Fall 1941-Spring 1942: Women’s dorm Unlisted for fall 1942 through spring 1946 Fall 1946-Spring 1960: Men’s dorm Fall 1960- Spring 1971: Women’s dorm Fall 1971: Men’s dorm.

During the years that it The Pines was unlisted, fall 1942-Spring 1946, the Navy Training School (NTS) used the quarters. These men training at NTS were there for radio training. Miami University was greatly impacted during World War 1. Not only did they open their buildings to help with training the Navy, but also students got involved. Miami Volunteer Training Corps was organized and within two weeks, four hundred and fifty people had signed up. The females at the university “enlisted in the Red Cross first aid classes, training as nurse’s aides, in drafting courses, and in serving as hostesses at local U.S.O. clubrooms”. In some women’s halls physical fitness committees sat up programs for all women, which “emphasized rounded diet, regular sleep, and vigorous exercise". This brought about a three year pre-professional curriculum. The US Navy was not the only group to take advantage of the space Miami’s campus had to offer. In 1945 two professional baseball teams, the Columbus Red Birds and the Rochester Red Wings used the Pines for spring training.



Dr. Charles Wilson
The building was used for dorms and training facilities under the name the Pines until 1986. On June 16, 1986 Miami University named the building Wilson Hall after Dr. Charles Wilson. Dr. Wilson was a native of Cincinnati and a student at Miami when the Pines was built in 1924. He returned to Miami after getting his doctorate from the University of Chicago, to be on the faculty at Miami for one year. Dr. Wilson stayed involved with Miami consistently through his life, acting as president from 1964-1965 when Dr. John D. Millett left to become the first chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents. He became the Vice President of affairs and provost before he retired in 1970. Since then, the blue limestone building located in East Quad was known as Wilson Hall.

Wilson Hall’s 19,667 square feet is currently being occupied by “COED First Year Residents”. There has been so much history in Wilson Hall and every year more is being added to the list.