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Memorial Hall
Awarded a $250,000 Grant for Restoration and Repairs
A Community Working Together...
March 1, 2012
GREENVILLE – While it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a
community partnering together to keep a historic treasure alive, such
as Darke County’s historic Henry St. Clair Memorial Hall, located in
Greenville.
Memorial Hall, which celebrates its 100th anniversary in May, was
awarded a $250,000 grant for façade repairs and exterior restoration by
the Ohio Department of Development. This funding was secured through
the collaboration of the City of Greenville, Greenville City Schools,
Darke County Endowment for the Arts and Main Street Greenville. The
matching funds were provided through permanent improvement funds of
Greenville City Schools, who owns the building, and by Darke County
Endowment for the Arts.
The City of Greenville applied to the Ohio Department of Development
for a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Discretionary Program
Tier 3 on behalf of Greenville City Schools with assistance from Mote
and Associates and Susan Schepis, Grants Specialist.
“We are thrilled to have so many different groups working together to
secure funding and help restore Memorial Hall,” said Jon McGreevey,
Director of Administrative Services for Greenville City Schools. “This
funding will ensure Memorial Hall remains a treasure in Darke County.”
The $250,000 matching grant will preserve multiple aspects of Memorial
Hall. Renovations include restoration and repairs of the front façade
and reinforcing the façade structure by repointing mortar joints and
repairing deteriorating cast stone. Structural improvements will be
completed in the attic and damage caused by excessive moisture in the
building over the past 100 years will be addressed.
With cooperative weather, officials anticipate construction will
commence in May and the major parts of the renovation will be completed
before school starts in late August.
A Centennial Celebration for Memorial Hall organized by the Darke
County Center for the Arts (DCCA) and local citizens will be held May
4-6, 2012. Building tours will be offered on Friday evening May 4, and
musical selections, which were performed at Memorial Hall’s dedication
on May 3, 1912, will be featured.
A building used for educational and cultural purposes was the dream of
Henry St. Clair, a man who moved to Greenville in 1872 and opened Darke
County’s most successful wholesale grocery business. St. Clair served
the community as a member of Greenville’s school board and as a city
councilman. He and his wife Ella Van Dyke St. Clair contributed
generously to local community needs. St. Clair’s final gift to Darke
County was leaving $100,000 in his will to the Greenville Board of
Education to build Memorial Hall. Construction on the building began in
June 1910 and was completed in 1912. The project cost $135,000 in its
entirety, and St. Clair’s wife, Ella, paid the remainder.
For more information about the Centennial Celebration, contact DCCA at
547-0908 or visit their website at www.centerforarts.net.
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