HAYESVILLE – After sitting vacant for more than 80 years, the Vermillion Institute in Hayesville has been given new life and the public had the chance to see the renovated historic building during an open house Friday evening.
Steve McQuillin, a preservation consultant, purchased the building at 150 E. Main St. in November 2011 and has spent nearly five years and hundreds of thousands of dollars remodeling the structure.
McQuillin and his work crew have turned the historic structure into his residence and office for his business McQuillin and Associates, a consulting firm that specializes in the preservation of historic buildings and communities.
Building preservation is much more than just a job for the Elyria native. McQuillin, who earned his bachelor’s degree at Oberlin in Architecture and Urban Studies, can speak at length about the importance of preserving our architectural history and the necessity of embracing our cultural heritage.
“How can we hope to think about the future of our culture if we don’t talk about buildings,” McQuillin said. “There’s a lot of great history here in Ohio.”
The Vermillion Institute is one part of that history. McQuillin learned about the Vermillion Institute more than three decades ago when he worked for the Ohio Preservation Office in the northeast district. More recently, he would ride his bike past the building as he rode his bike along the Lincoln Highway.
“I would go by here every year and see it getting worse and worse and thinking, ‘It’s terrible that this is happening,'” McQuillin said. “I thought I would take it on.”
The History
The Vermillion Institute was founded in 1843 as one of the first institutes of higher learning in north central Ohio. Designed by Ashland native Ozias S. Kinney and constructed by Edwin Hubbard, the institute was officially chartered by the Ohio Legislature on March 4, 1845.
The institute was started by the Baptists but according to historic records, by 1849 it was Presbyterian-affiliated.
Originally, the institute consisted of the existing 35-foot-by-50-foot five-story brick building including a two-stage tower, along with two two-story frame buildings that served as men’s and women’s dormitories which no longer stand. The ground floor of the main building served as the chapel, the second floor had classrooms, and the third floor held a library and meeting rooms for literary societies. The fourth floor was attic space.
At its high point, approximately 600 students from 13 states were enrolled at the school. During the Civil War, enrollment at the school declined, and it never recovered. It turned into a preparatory academy before it closed in the mid 1880s, but got a new life in 1886 when the building became Hayesville High School. In 1929, a new Hayesville High School was constructed on the other end of the village and the institute was abandoned. In 1976, the building was added to the National Historic Register.
Notable graduates of the institute include Loudonville native William Strong who became mayor of New York City, Capital College founder Frank Fox, B&O Railroad president John Cowan, and 1928 presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Atlee Pomerene.
The Present
In 2011, McQuillin purchased the institute and in June 2012 he set to work on gutting and rebuilding the interior.
“It all had to be gutted but we kept the floor plan of it, with the room layout,” McQuillin said.
Many local residents and business helped McQuillin with the renovation work. Local residents Neil Miller, Lester Troyer of Troyer Builders, and Kyle Clark, a former Career Center student, aided McQuillin with his work. McQuillin hired Clark as project manager immediately after he graduated from the Career Center.
Steel i-beams were installed to make the structure stronger. Special touches were added to make the building more authentic to its original appearance, including new hardwood floors, cherry trim, crown molding and mahogany staircase railings.
Eighty new windows were installed in the structure. The historic structure has been rewired with new electrical wiring and internet access.
Outside, the building has new copper gutters and downspouts, the front porch was repainted, landscaping was completed and the roof and chimneys were replaced.
The tower had long ago fallen off the building, so McQuillin had to design and build a new tower to top the structure.
During Friday’s open house, visitors remarked with amazement at the work McQuillin and his crew had done on the building. “I never thought I’d see it look this good,” one visitor said.
The first floor is an open space which McQuillin said he has considered renting out for wedding receptions or other gatherings. A beautiful fish pond greets visitors as they take the stairs to the second floor. The second floor features an open floor plan with a kitchen, dining room and living room. The third floor has bedrooms and a library which opens to a fourth floor loft. The fourth floor include a bedroom and living room and the fifth floor tower houses McQuillin’s office. McQuillin said you can see Wayne County from the tower.
The Future
McQuillin would love to get young people interested in preservation and is working with some local colleges to offer winter term classes on historic preservation with guest lecturers.
“I would like this to become a place where I can teach about preservation,” McQuillin said.
In addition, McQuillin is purchasing the vacant Oddfellows Hall and hardware store on East Main Street on the first floor of the Hayesville Opera House building. He said he plans to renovate the exterior and possibly turn the interior into apartments.
