Building Guide

1851 East Hall
1855 Middle Hall
1867 West Hall
1887-88 Bartlett Cottage
1889 Ingalls Park
1900 Ingram Hall
1900 Hughes House
circa 1900 Ransom House
1908 Little White Schoolhouse
1916 Harwood House
1917 Sanford House
1917 Parkhurst House
1918 Duffie House
1918 Memorial Gym, remodeled
1920 Woodside House
1920 Scribner House
1929 Bowen’s Woods
1930 Heating Plant
1930 Lane Library
1938 Taintor House
1939 Tri-Dorms (Evans Hall, Shaler Hall, and Wright Hall)
1940 Merriman House
ca1940 Faculty Apartments
ca1945 Memorial Gym, remodeled
1942 Harwood Memorial Union
1945 The Barracks
1950 Scott Hall
1953 Barker House
1957 Lowe House
1957 Memorial Gym, remodeled
1958 Quads (Bovay Hall, Mapes Hall, Scott Hall, Smith Hall)
1960 Farr Hall of Science
1961 Pickard Commons
1961 Sadoff Field
1962 Johnson Hall
1966 Scott Hall, addition
1967 Kemper Clinic
1967 One Merriman Lane
1967 Storzer Physical Education Center
1968 Todd Wehr
1971 Rodman Center for the Arts
1974 Wehr Learning Resources Center
1980-81 Memorial Hall, renovated [2nd time]
1980-1 East Hall, renovated
1980-1 West Hall, renovated
1987-88 Bartlett Hall, renovated
1988 Tri-Dorms (Evans Hall, Shaler Hall, and Wright Hall), renovated
1991 Rodman addition
1991 Storzer addition
1991 Harwood Memorial Union remodeled
1996 Farr Hall addition
2006 Carnegie Building
2007 Campus Apartments

Donor Building(s)

Blackburn St. [303] Heating Plant 1930
Blackburn St. [303] Little White Schoolhouse 1908
Blackburn St. [303] Republican House
Blossom St. [120] Corner Blossom/Ransom Ransom House ca1900
Congress St. Corner/Elm/Congress Barker House 1953
Congress St. Rodman 1971
Congress St. Sanford House 1917
Congress St. [470] Merriman House 1940
Congress St. [470] Sanford House 1917
E. Fond du Lac Corner E. Fond du Lac/Houston Little White Schoolhouse
E. Fond du Lac St. Athenian Hall
E. Fond du Lac St. Ingalls Field 1889
Elm Street Corner/Congress/Elm Barker House 1953
Elm Street Corner/Seward/Elm Harwood Memorial Union 1942
Elm Street Corner/Seward/Elm Little White Schoolhouse 1908
Elm Street Lane Library [back] 1930
Elm Street Corner/Congress/Elm Pickard Commons 1961
Elm Street Wehr Learning Resources Center 1974
Hall Street N.E. corner/Tygert Hall The Elms
Lincoln Street Faculty Apartments c1940
Merriman Lane, One One Merriman Lane 1967
Oak Street Faculty Apartments c1940
Ransom Street Corner/Ransom/Thorne Tracy House
Ransom Street Brand Rex Coffee House
Ransom Street Wisconsin State Historical Marker
Ransom Street [220] First Congregational Church
Ransom Street [616] Taintor House 1938
Ransom St. (West side) Todd Wehr 1968
Ransom Street Corner Ransom/Seward 1960 1991
Seward Street Bartlett Cottage 1887 1987
Seward Street Duffie House 1918
Seward Street Corner Elm/Seward Harwood Memorial Union 1942
Seward Street Corner Woodside Ave./Seward Street Hughes House 1900
Seward Street Red Barn Theater
The Hill East Hall 1851
The Hill West Hall 1867
The Hill Ingram Hall 1900
The Hill Middle Hall 1855
Thorne Street Johnson Hall 1962
Thorne Street Kemper Computer Center 1967
Thorne Street Siberia
Thorne Street The Barracks 1945
Thorne Street Tennis Courts
Thorne Street Bowen’s Woods 1929
Thorne Street The Quads: Bovay Hall 1958
Thorne Street Corner/Thorne/Woodside Harwood House 1916
Thorne Street Scott Hall Site Woodside House, former 1920
Thorne Street Rodman Center for the Arts 1971 1991
Thorne Street Sadoff Field, Upper end 1961
Thorne Steet [121] Corner/Ransom/Thorne Parkhurst House 1917
Thorne Street [300] Maude Russell property
Thorne Street [420] Draeger House [rental]
Thorne Street [515] Lowe House 1957
Thorne Street [520] Woodside House 1920
Thorne Street [520] Scott Hall 1950 1966 addition
Thorne St./Seward St Tri-Dorms: Evans, Shaler 1939 1988
Tygert Street Corner Tygert St/Hall St The Elms ?
Union Street Rodman Center for the Arts 1971 1991
Union Street Near corner Thorne/Union Storzer Physical Education Center 1967
Union Street South Woods
Union St. [333] Rahloff Property [rental]
Watson Street Ripon, city of, downtown
Woodside Corner Seward/Woodside Duffie House 1918
Woodside Avenue Hall House
Woodside Avenue Corner/Woodside/Thorne Campus Apartments 2007
Woodside Avenue Corner/Woodside/Thorne Harwood House 1916
Woodside Avenue Corner/Seward/Thorne Hughes House 1900
Woodside Avenue [between Thorne and Seward] Black Cultural Center
Woodside Avenue [416] Scribner House 1920
Woodside Avenue [602] Lyle House Hughes administration

Other Properties Purchased

Several properties along Thorne and Union Streets were purchased in the 1950’s and 1960’s to make way for expansion of the campus. Some of these include:

1958-59: Draeger House
Located on 420 Thorne Street, near Scott Hall. This property is currently used for faculty rental housing.

1965: Rahloff Property
Located on 333 Union Street, next to the baseball field.

1967: Maude Russell property
Located on Thorne Street. 300 Union Street, next to Rodman. Rental property.

Notes on Other Properties

The Carriage House of Lyle Hall, deeded according to Dean Tenney to the Girl Scouts for $1.00 (the building only, not the property) and referred to as the Girl Scout Headquarters. 321 Oak Street. Later the residence of Jean Van Hengel, a Dean of Women at the College.

The Haseltine Property was owned by the College and sold December 3, 1941 to Joseph Naylor, owner of the Naylor Toy Company. The Haseltine House is now the Republican House Restaurant. In the 1950s the property was acquired by the Republican Education Foundation, later renamed the Foundation for American Principles and Traditions.

Lawsonia (the American Baptist Assembly on Green Lake) was once available for purchase by Ripon College, but the College chose not to acquire it.

Non-Campus Sites
South Woods

Located on Union Street, south of Storzer and Rodman. A wooded area maintained without interference with nature’s processes by The South Woods Association. Open to the public, it is a lovely place for a walk or a picnic. Often appears in the Crimsons and many college people have enjoyed it and helped preserve it.

“The rooms for the young ladies are in Bartlett Cottage and are very pleasantly situated, all having new furniture. The study-room measures 12X15, the bed-room 7 1/2 X 12. The floors have a painted margin of about 2 feet, so that rugs may be used if desired. The rooms have hard finished walls and are furnished with bed-stead, woven wire and wool mattresses, table, stand, and two or three common chairs. The whole building is heated by steam.”–From the Student Handbook, 1890-91 (Provided by the Y.W.C.A and Y.M.C.A)

Note: The offices of the Dean of Students, the Registrar, and Career Development were moved from Middle Hall to Bartlett Hall when Bartlett was renovated in 1988.

References: Tomkies, p.6; Pictorial Review, p.4; Ripon College: A History, pp. 66- 67.

June 28, 1887- – Board of Trustees voted on “the site of the new cottage for ladies.” Estimated cost without furnishings, $10,000.
September 15, 1888- – Mrs. Lucy Bartlett gave $6,000 towards construction of building. Thus, building was named, at her request, in honor of her husband.
1888– Ready for occupancy. Originally designed to house 44 women. Room rent was $6.00 to $12.00. “Bartlett was the only women’ s dorm at the time.”
1894 — Board of Trustees authorized “the putting of water into Bartlett.”
1907– Electricity and hardwood floors installed. Bathrooms moved from basement to upper floors.
1913– By that time Bartlett had “been redecorated and made…up to date in every particular.”
1918-_- Bartlett became Bartlett Barracks – men now lived in the building; women were assigned to the LeRoy Hotel and Scribner House.
1919– Women moved back. Much damage had been incurred and while repairs were made, nothing was quite the same.
1924- – Bartlett’s first sorority was Delta Delta Beta – 27 members.
1925 — Delta Delta Beta petitioned to become Theta Upsilon, a national sorority.
1927- – Under the policy adopted by the Board of Trustees, the two-year period of consideration of the establishment of national sororities and fraternities on campus ended with There Upsilon being advised to discontinue its national membership.
1928 — Kappa Sigma Chi, a local sorority, was formed.
1934 — Infirmary. was installed in the north end of the basement of Bartlett Hall, made necessary by outbreak of 26 cases of scarlet fever. Two rooms for men and one room for women and a doctors’ and nurses’ office. “This marks the first year of an organized health service at Ripon for which each student was charged $3.00 per year. The initial expense for this venture was $1,142.”
1935 — “A new door was put into the north end of Bartlett so people could enter without disturbing the occupants of the infirmary.”
1937 — Bartlett received showers and a tub.
1938– Bartlett was refurnished and redecorated. The cupola was removed at a cost of $1,000.
1939– Bartlett housed freshman and transfer women only. “At least one older girl was assigned to each floor to act as a proctor.”
1940- – Bartlett Annex (Old Merriman across the street from East) was used to accommodate the extra freshman women. Bartlett Annex became the College Infirmary.
1942– Bartlett was again turned over to the army. Men moved into Bartlett and women moved into Merriman.
1942- – Survey made by College housing facilities.Report made to Board of Trustees: “The older halls like Bartlett, Smith, and West are very roomy and comfortable and have enough of what modern design would call “waste space” to house almost a third more students.” In addition the survey cautioned: “Repairs should be made immediately when signs of deterioration show up. It is my estimation it is poor economy to let things get too bad before they are fixed.”
1943– Women moved back into Bartlett. A date bureau was set up in this building “in boosting the morale of the service boys…on campus.”
1945– Bartlett was redecorated and the former infirmary area was made into an apartment for Miss Hawkinson, the dietition.
1947– Board of Trustees discussed moving Alpha Omega Alpha fraternity into Bartlett. “It would cost approximately $2,500 to add toilet facilities accommodate men and $1,000 to refurnish the lounge so as to be suitable for men.”
1951– Alpha Omega Alpha and the independent men moved into Bartlett.
1952– The tower of Bartlett was removed.
1953– Roof of Bartlett in bad shape, making the interior of the building in bad shape. Board of Trustees reported it would not be wise to spend $15,000 for a new roof and not remedy some of the other hazards at the same time. The Board approved “the sum of and not to exceed $1,000 for the purpose of retaining the services of an architect to survey this property and make it functional.”
1954– Alpha Omega Alpha became Theta Chi.
1958– Bartlett was slated to be razed to make way for a new dining and kitchen facility. Theta Chi moved to the Quads. After Theta Chi moved out, the second and third floors were used for storage. The Music Department occupied the first floor. Even after Johnson Hall was built Bartlett continued to be needed for housing men until the third quad could be completed. Bartlett was then turned back over to women. The infirmaryturned-dietitian’s apartment became Jerry Thompson’s office.
In the mid 70’s the Housing and Dining Hall Committee recommended that Bartlett Hall be closed as a residence hall. However, we are, of course, still using it as such.
The above material is a summary of a paper written by Jenny Spencer for George Miller’s history of Ripon class.
1959– It was determined that the enrollment increase anticipated for the 19591960 year made it mandatory that addition, al dormitory space was needed. It was decided in July of 1959 to install a new roof on the building and to prepare it for occupancy. Several of the third floor rooms, particularly the comer rooms, had severe plaster damage due to the leaking roof. Several other areas in the building had the finish coat plaster peeled off and it became a major task to ready the surfaces for painting. The entire interior of the building was redecorated. Several doors were split and had to be replaced. It was hoped that the building would be utilized for two or possibly three years and then would be phased out following the construction of the third quad which began in 1961. The third quad was occupied in the fall of 1961-1962. The full-time equivalent for that year was 698. Johnson Hall construction began in August of 1961, was completed in July of 1962, and occupied the 1962-1963 year. Our full-time equivalent student body was 748, Enrollment escalated in 19631964 to a full-time equivalent of 820. Bartlett housed men until it reverted to housing women in the 1962-1963 year. By the time Bovay Hall opened in the fall of the 1965-1966 year enrollment had increased to a full-time equivalent of 913. With the opening of Johnson Hall in 1962 the college discontinued using Duffey House, Harwood House, Lyle House, Parker’s House, Tracy House and Hall House as residence halls,
1960- Installed new water heater.
1962-1963 — Repainted the exterior of the building and half of the interior rooms.
1965-1966 — Installed new lounge carpeting, lounge drapes and repainted the lounge.
1967– Installed hand railings on both the south and east entrances. Replaced corridor lights with incandescent fixtures. Installed four new lavatories, four new toilets, new mirror units in both washrooms, 18 built-in clothes closets and installed a fire sprinkler system throughout the entire building, including basement and attic. All beds and mattresses were replaced. The existing shower rooms were renovated with the installation of new lead pans, water piping, mixing valves, shower heads and ceramic tile, Both washrooms were repainted. A new entrance door was installed on the south entrance. The entire exterior of the building was sandblasted.
1969– All student rooms were repainted. The basement was converted into a study area. New lighting was installed and the walls were repainted.
1970– Stairwell and hall corridors were repainted. Replaced water heater.
1972– Enrollment peaked with a Fall opening of 1059 F.T.E.
1974– Redecorated 14 rooms. Enrollment for 1974/75 dropped to a F.T.E.. of 912. Building condition bad and its continued use without a major renovation is probably not feasible,
1975– Installed new roof over the flat deck area. Discussions relative to phasing the facility out of service prompted the Housing and Dining Hall Committee to recommend that the building be closed as a residence hall. New television set and aerial installed.
1977– The Department of Industry, Labor and Human Relations required the installation of a fire-rated stairwell enclosure.
1978– Showers leaking, extensive caulking and regrouting done in attempt to stop the leaks. Wood frame interior seems to move and the grouting cracks.
1979– New lounge carpet installed.
1980– The exterior and several student rooms were repainted,
1981– Installed new radiator valves,
1982– Painted main lounge and 13 student rooms. Installed 36 smoke alarms,
1983- Installed battery operated emergency lighting system in corridors and stairwells.

References

Ashley, Robert and George Miller. Ripon College: A History, Ripon College Press, c. 1990. 304 pages.
“Fact Sheet: Ripon College Buildings,” compiled by Public Relations Office, Ripon Office, November 11, 1970. 13 pages.
Pedrick, Samuel M. and George H. Miller. A History of Ripon, Wisconsin. Ripon Historical Society, 1964. 395 pages.
Tomkies, D.M. “The Ripon Campus Since 1851.” Compiled and distributed by the members of the Lambda [sic] Zeta Chapter of the Alpha Phi Omega, National Service Fraternity at Ripon College, Ripon, Wisconsin, under the direction of D.M. Tomkies, in collaboration with the Ripon College Publicity Department and interested parties. n.d. [circa 1977] 13 pages.

Additional Sources

Buildings and Grounds files, in Ripon College Archives, Room 405
Buildings Notebook, Archives Room 412. (References to buildings as found in catalogs, etc.)
Ripon College catalogs.
Ripon College Office of College Relations press releases, as noted.
College Days as noted.

For Further Research or Photographs

Ripon College Archives: 4th Floor, Library, Room 412, and locked storeroom 405.
Photo Collection: (Room 405) Black and white photos of campus buildings, past and present. Oversize photos are stored separately.
Postcard Collection: (Archives, Room 412, and Museum) Postcards from throughout the history of the campus.
Slide Collection: (Room 405, Range 3) A mostly unsorted collection of slides. A good source of color photographs from 1960s and 70s.
Crimsons: (Room 412, Room 405, and Museum) Student yearbooks. Contain photos and descriptions of living groups in buildings each year.
College Days: (Room 405, Range 6) Indexed through 1964. Contain photos, activities, construction and dedication announcements, summary histories and other items about campus buildings.
College Relations releases: (Room 412) Press releases about the College, often containing summary histories of buildings or stories on funding or dedications.
Catalogs: (Room 412) Brief descriptions, lists and histories of buildings and of departmental facilities each year.
Scrapbooks: (Room 405) Candid photos from the early years, (mostly early 1900’s) and mementos of social events. Some are specific to buildings such as West Hall.