Page 157 - History of UB Church in Hburg Region
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History of U.B. Churches in Harrisonburg-Staunton Region December 26, 2024
such as the log Misses Boyers’ House and a handful of brick houses, including the Ephraim Ruebush
House, the Kirkpatrick House, and the Payne-Cromer House.
A number of the larger, more stylish, turn-of-the-century houses presently lining College Street
were built for college faculty, including the J. H. Hall House, the J. H. Ruebush House, the J. W. Howe
House, and the Professor Hoenshel House. The presence of the college added considerable activity to
this Street in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The college began in a mid-19th-century brick
tavern located at 250 College Street and soon enlarged this with a brick Victorian addition to the north.
This building continued to be the heart of the campus. The college soon acquired the land between
College Street and the north end of Main Street, along the old millrace. Some of the older houses
located by the creek were razed or moved to permit construction of college buildings and to improve the
grounds. Although the college began by remodeling extant buildings, the school by 1899 had
constructed its first building, Howe Memorial Hall, a Gothic-inspired collegiate design. In the early
20th century, the college added two brick Colonial Revival buildings, the Administration Building in
1910 and the Kieffer Alumni Gymnasium in 1930, both on the west side of College Street. By 1912,
Professors J. H. Ruebush and W. H. Ruebush had built large frame residences on the school grounds,
with J. H. Ruebush’s house being one of the most stylish Queen Anne designs in town. Various other
College Street properties have had uses associated with the college, some serving as boarding houses
while others provided restaurants catering to the college trade, such as Bryan’s Restaurant and Kieffer’s
Lunch.
The lower end of Mill Street, from Main to College Street, was also one of the town’s oldest
roads. The street received its present name from the gristmill located near the present intersection of
Main and Mill streets. The mill, which burned in 1922, was situated east of Main Street; while the dam,
filled in during the early 20th century, was located on the northwest corner of the intersection. Two
houses belonging to mid-19-century mill owners, the D. T. Click House and the W. J. Miller House,
remain at the intersection. Several small shop buildings, a house, and later two long wooden barracks
associated with the college have been torn down on the north side of this first block of Mill Street,
replaced by a 1960s gas station and dentist’s office. In 1883 the town extended Mill Street beyond
College Street. Aldine Kieffer built the Virginia Organ Company on this new stretch in 1882, but it
burned a few years later and was never rebuilt. In 1886, Hiram Coffman donated land further west of
Mill Street for a new, two-story frame schoolhouse, which was replaced by the present in 1914. The
new Dayton school was one of the earliest and most stylish examples of its type in Rockingham County.
Before long, the surrounding land to the south and west of the school would be developed.
Dayton’s prosperity towards the end of the 19th century led to several residential additions to the
town. In the mid-1880s, lots were sold and developed along High Street, from Thompson to Mill
streets, in the “Kieffer Addition.” An 1885 map shows eight houses here, most of which are still
standing. The majority of the houses on this block, dating between 1880 and 1900, are frame I-houses
embellished with decorative porches, gable screens, bracketed cornices, and bay windows. The northern
blocks of High Street were developed slightly later, between 1886 and 1920. The houses in these blocks
exhibit more irregular plans and stylish decoration, and were often built by Shenandoah College faculty
or administrators, such as the Beazley House and the Funkhouser House. At least two, and possibly
more, of these houses were the work of local builder Johnson Burtner, known for his exterior decoration.
The southern end of Main Street was not extensively developed until the turn of the century as
well. Two antebellum brick houses, the Coffman House and Aldine Kieffer House, are the oldest
dwellings on this block. Only three other wooden houses had been built on the southern block of Main
Street by 1885. In 1895 James H. Ruebush, a college professor who contributed much to the
development of Dayton during these years, bought five acres, including the old Coffman House, on the
east side of the turnpike. Ruebush divided this property, called it the “South Side Addition,” and sold
II.B.14 Dayton U.B. Church and SCI 143
such as the log Misses Boyers’ House and a handful of brick houses, including the Ephraim Ruebush
House, the Kirkpatrick House, and the Payne-Cromer House.
A number of the larger, more stylish, turn-of-the-century houses presently lining College Street
were built for college faculty, including the J. H. Hall House, the J. H. Ruebush House, the J. W. Howe
House, and the Professor Hoenshel House. The presence of the college added considerable activity to
this Street in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The college began in a mid-19th-century brick
tavern located at 250 College Street and soon enlarged this with a brick Victorian addition to the north.
This building continued to be the heart of the campus. The college soon acquired the land between
College Street and the north end of Main Street, along the old millrace. Some of the older houses
located by the creek were razed or moved to permit construction of college buildings and to improve the
grounds. Although the college began by remodeling extant buildings, the school by 1899 had
constructed its first building, Howe Memorial Hall, a Gothic-inspired collegiate design. In the early
20th century, the college added two brick Colonial Revival buildings, the Administration Building in
1910 and the Kieffer Alumni Gymnasium in 1930, both on the west side of College Street. By 1912,
Professors J. H. Ruebush and W. H. Ruebush had built large frame residences on the school grounds,
with J. H. Ruebush’s house being one of the most stylish Queen Anne designs in town. Various other
College Street properties have had uses associated with the college, some serving as boarding houses
while others provided restaurants catering to the college trade, such as Bryan’s Restaurant and Kieffer’s
Lunch.
The lower end of Mill Street, from Main to College Street, was also one of the town’s oldest
roads. The street received its present name from the gristmill located near the present intersection of
Main and Mill streets. The mill, which burned in 1922, was situated east of Main Street; while the dam,
filled in during the early 20th century, was located on the northwest corner of the intersection. Two
houses belonging to mid-19-century mill owners, the D. T. Click House and the W. J. Miller House,
remain at the intersection. Several small shop buildings, a house, and later two long wooden barracks
associated with the college have been torn down on the north side of this first block of Mill Street,
replaced by a 1960s gas station and dentist’s office. In 1883 the town extended Mill Street beyond
College Street. Aldine Kieffer built the Virginia Organ Company on this new stretch in 1882, but it
burned a few years later and was never rebuilt. In 1886, Hiram Coffman donated land further west of
Mill Street for a new, two-story frame schoolhouse, which was replaced by the present in 1914. The
new Dayton school was one of the earliest and most stylish examples of its type in Rockingham County.
Before long, the surrounding land to the south and west of the school would be developed.
Dayton’s prosperity towards the end of the 19th century led to several residential additions to the
town. In the mid-1880s, lots were sold and developed along High Street, from Thompson to Mill
streets, in the “Kieffer Addition.” An 1885 map shows eight houses here, most of which are still
standing. The majority of the houses on this block, dating between 1880 and 1900, are frame I-houses
embellished with decorative porches, gable screens, bracketed cornices, and bay windows. The northern
blocks of High Street were developed slightly later, between 1886 and 1920. The houses in these blocks
exhibit more irregular plans and stylish decoration, and were often built by Shenandoah College faculty
or administrators, such as the Beazley House and the Funkhouser House. At least two, and possibly
more, of these houses were the work of local builder Johnson Burtner, known for his exterior decoration.
The southern end of Main Street was not extensively developed until the turn of the century as
well. Two antebellum brick houses, the Coffman House and Aldine Kieffer House, are the oldest
dwellings on this block. Only three other wooden houses had been built on the southern block of Main
Street by 1885. In 1895 James H. Ruebush, a college professor who contributed much to the
development of Dayton during these years, bought five acres, including the old Coffman House, on the
east side of the turnpike. Ruebush divided this property, called it the “South Side Addition,” and sold
II.B.14 Dayton U.B. Church and SCI 143
