© 2024 KRCU Public Radio
90.9 Cape Girardeau | 88.9-HD Ste. Genevieve | 88.7 Poplar Bluff
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Old Handball Wall, Now Inside New Dorm, Leaves Little Impression On Students

Zarah Laurence
/
The Arrow
Two large pieces of the St. Vincent's College handball wall were placed in the new River Campus Center in order to preserve its history.

The River Campus Center on Southeast Missouri State University's campus was completed this summer to accommodate new students arriving for the fall semester. Pieces of the historical handball court from the original old St. Vincent's College were incorporated in two of the building's walls.

During the fall of 2012, Southeast Missouri State University paired with the Lawrence Group out of St. Louis, which also contracted a consultant that had done historic documentation before on similar structures, to develop plans for a residence hall that would eventually be located on the northern open area of the River Campus lawn.

One slight problem remained in the way of the River Campus Center idea, though. The historic handball court, which was built in 1843 for recreational purposes at the then St. Vincent's College, stood in the way. This particular handball court is thought to be the oldest in the country on this side of the Mississippi River and was one of the initial structures built when St. Vincent's College was founded.

Angela Meyer, the director of Facilities Management, said that to preserve the rich history that goes along with the site and the actual handball wall, pieces of the structure were placed within two different walls in the River Campus Center.

"It's that rich history tied to the River Campus location in conjunction with the seminary and the St. Vincent's College," Meyer said. "It's reminiscent of the activities that took place on that site at that particular time period, and we recognize that it has meaning to many people in the local area and we believe that we have provided a honorable approach to displaying those [bricks] and keeping the memory of that particular activity moving forward."

Meyer said that the university decided to take down the wall and build the new River Campus housing in its place mainly because more housing was needed at Southeast, but also because the handball wall was found to be structurally unstable at that time. Rather than pay to have the wall restored or relocated, it was decided that the handball wall would be taken down and repurposed into a decorative homage within the east entrance to the River Campus Center.

Dr. Adam Criblez, an assistant professor and director for the Center of Regional History at Southeast, said that working with historic sites is difficult considering there are typically people on both sides of the question of whether or not to tear down the landmark.

"If there's opposition to knocking down the wall, then you do what you can, and if you know you're going to knock down the wall, then you do what you can to integrate it and hope to maybe soothe over some of those potential issues," Criblez said. "People that might be incredibly upset that the wall came down might be at least somewhat placated with the notion that it's being used for something. They're not just putting the bricks in a warehouse or selling them or giving them away, but, in fact, they're trying to retain that history through using the materials in a different fashion."

Multiple students who pass by the walls on a daily basis said that they had no idea that the bricks were anything other than decoration provided in the design of the housing by the university. None of the students were aware of the handball court's significance, let alone that it was right in a common area they pass by every single day.

When the initial decision to include the handball wall in the River Campus Center was made, plans from the Board of Regents included an informational plaque would be provided along with the wall to help explain to students the significance and history of the wall. This sign has yet to be built, even though the River Campus housing has been finished and open for over a month. Meyer said that the university is in the process of discussing the building of a sign to explain the history of the handball wall and its association with the seminary, but that nothing has been confirmed.

"It engages students to touch and feel and read the names that are engraved in those particular [bricks], but also to question what the history was and maybe go to the museum there at the River Campus, engage in conversations with historic preservation, contact Dr. [Steven] Hoffman [Historic Preservation Program Coordinator] and ask some questions," Meyer said of the design. "The building, the addition, the ability to engage the history of the site allows the students an opportunity to see and appreciate that the university is here to preserve as well as move forward."

Criblez said that he wasn't sure whether 95 percent of the students walking by would take notice of the handball wall within the building, but that he thinks it could be a viable opportunity for the remaining students to delve into the history of the seminary and the Cape Girardeau area.

"I think that any time you can get students to recognize that sense of place, that they are part of the Cape Girardeau community that has been here for 200-plus years, that's important. And if they see, if they feel that connection by seeing the remnants of a wall that has been here for -- that was here for a very long time, then that's great," Criblez said.

Logan Young is a reporter for Southeast Missouri State University's student-run newspaper, The Arrow.