​The Ohio State University, OSU Armory, 1898
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Who was William Neil?
  • William Neil was an early Columbus resident who made a fortune as the owner of a stagecoach company, hotel owner, land developer, and a property owner.  His wife, Hannah, was a very religious woman who was a charitable woman, helping the poor and needy.

Why was his farm chosen for the college?
  • William Neil owned a great deal of land in Columbus. He owned most of the north side of Columbus, including what would be today all of the land of The Ohio State University and the Ohio Fairgrounds. When the board of trustees for the new Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College (now Ohio State) were looking for a place to build the new land grant college, they were impressed by the location of the Neil Farm, the drinking water from the artesian (underground) spring (now Mirror Lake), and Mr. Neil’s willingness to sell. Neil had already made provisions for his children to own much of the land around what would be Ohio State, and once he died, his children’s land would be more valuable.​
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What is a land grant college? How is it different from other colleges?
  • A college is an institution of higher learning.  A college might be founded by private wealthy individuals or by religious groups. A land grant college is also an institution of higher learning, but it was founded on land or money given by the United States government and supported by a state government.  The purpose of the land grant college in the 19th century was to offer classes in agriculture and mechanical arts (meaning having to do with machinery). Today Ohio State is the largest land grant college (university) in the United States and teaches much more than agriculture and mechanical arts.

What is an armory?
  • An armory is a building designed to hold “arms,” small weapons such as rifles for training soldiers. The armory at Ohio State was designed to also be a place for drilling, sports, graduations, and large gatherings.

What happened to the Armory in 1958?
  • It burned to the ground and was not rebuilt.

Does the Wexner Center look like the old Armory?
  • The Armory was designed by architect Frank Packard to look like a large castle. In 1989 the Wexner Center for the Arts was built on the former site of the Armory. The Wexner Center was built to have a resemblance to the old castle-like Armory because the local architect, Richard Trott, passed the empty site for many years, remembering the old building.  Trott’s partners were Eisenman, Robertson of New York, and together they won the international design competition for the building.​​