The Sundial - An Unknown Commemoration

The Academy Building was a simple one - two stories high with
only two rooms.  It had small dimensions of 24 feet in width and
30 feet in length.  Pictured above is a sketch of what the building
looked like (Academy Building Sketch).

Every day thousands of Bobcat students walk mindlessly past the plaques and monuments that are scattered across Ohio University’s campus.  One of these appears to be a simple slab of concrete with yet another plaque, but a closer look will show that a sundial sits on top of it.  So what’s so special about this monument?  It happens to be a marker of the beginning of the university the Bobcat students know and love today.  Before the sundial was built as a marker, the very first Ohio University building stood in the same spot.  Given the simple name of Academy Building, it was erected in 1807 just after the university’s establishment (Sundial). 

  

Two very notable Ohio University alumni graduated in the Academy Building.  In 1815, Ohio University’s first graduates were Thomas Ewing and John Hunter.  Ewing represented his university well with his later success in the United States’ government.  He served as a United States Senator, as well as Secretary of Treasury and Secretary of Interior to four different presidents!  Amongst this, he was a valuable trustee of the university (Sundial).  From the Academy Building, Ohio University graduated a successful man that set the foundation for the success of students today!  

"The place where many dates were made and
many vows were taken only to be broken again."
- The Athena  (1925 edition) (Meiser)

Oddly enough, there is not record of why or how the Academy Building was removed from Ohio University.  Why on earth would anyone think to remove this momentous foundation of such a historic university?  The Academy Building's downfall can be categorically placed with the other ghost stories that haunt the rest of Ohio University.

In 1907, the sundial was built almost 30 years after the Academy Building was removed from campus to serve as a reminder of Ohio University’s very first building and the success that came from its students (Academy Building Sketch).  After it was built, the sundial served another purpose.  University students gathered around it for meeting one and another and chit-chatting (Meiser).  Although it no longer serves this purpose today due to its unknown status and inconvenient location on the now large campus.  If you’re an Athens, Ohio resident, try not to look over this important monument next time you are walking through College Green.  It can be found between Galbreath Chapel and University Terrace (Sundial).  If you stop at the plaques around campus, you will be shocked at what you can learn about the history of the community you live in today!

 - Alexis Johns & Logan Trautman

Works Cited

"Academy Building Sketch." Ohio University Archives. Ohio University Libraries. Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections. Web. 13 May 2012. <http://media.library.ohiou.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/archives/id/362/rec/2>.

Meiser, Hannah. "Then and Now: The Beautiful Expressions of a Long Heritage." OHIO: Compass. Ohio University, 9 Feb. 2011. Web. 13 May 2012. <http://www.ohio.edu/compass/stories/10-11/2/then-and-now-art-on-campus.cfm>.

"Sundial." Ohio University. Ed. Dick Piccard. Ohio University. Web. 13 May 2012.
            <http://www.ohio.edu/athens/bldgs/sundial.html>.