Dodge Gymnasium
Excerpt from Building A College: An Architectural History of Berea College[1]
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Dodge Gymnasium, c. 1890 
Built behind the Professor Le Vant Dodge family home the horse stable became a girl's gymnasium when the Prudential Committee voted to purchase it for $440 in 1914. Professor Dodge taught math, Greek and political science (PCM, September 30, 1914; PAR, June, 1915). A "lean-to" was added at the north end of the barn to serve as entranceway, storage and rest rooms; and later an alcove for a piano and seating for spectators was built on the east side (PCM, January 8, 1916). Miss Ella Hill gave the money for a fireplace where students could pop corn and pull taffy in the evenings ( Berea Citizen, October 28, 1926, 6). The Dodge stable served as a women's gymnasium until 1938. The white-washed board and batten building with wonderful elastic wooden floors was appropriated and used by Frank Smith, Ethel Capps and John Ramsey, Directors of the Country Dancers, as a building for dance. Later the Prudential Committee voted that the Lower Division could use the building for social events (March 3, 1943). On July 30, 1977, the College sold the building to the highest bidder. Professor John Ramsey, third Director of the Country Dancers, and friends took the structure apart during July and August, 1977. Reusing the building materials Ramsey built a structure on a farm near Berea (Berea Alumnus, November-December, 1977, back cover; Berea Citizen, June 30, 1977; August 4, 1977, 7; BCAVF, 5.39).
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[1] Citation: Boyce, Robert Piper. Building A College: An Architectural History of Berea College. Self-published. Berea, Ky: Berea College Printing Services, 2006, p64.
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Works Cited
Boyce, Robert Piper. Building A College: An Architectural History of Berea College. Self-published. Berea, Ky: Berea College Printing Services, 2006, p64.
