Built in 1912, at a cost of $10,000, the Gymnasium provided facilities for athletics, physical education, offices, classrooms, and a location for dances and other festive events. The facility also made it possible for WVWC to organize and host the first state high school basketball tournament in 1914 (which continued here until 1938). One of the finest gymnasiums in the state, it was enlarged further in 1920. As World War I came to a close, The Student Army Training Corp used this building as barracks in late 1918. Heavy use took its toll, and it was razed in 1974.
In the 1913 Catalog, the Gymnasium was described as — a three-story building of light brick, 110 by 115 feet, and was erected in 1912. On the ground floor are locker rooms for men and women, shower baths, a swimming pool 20 by 50 feet, base ball cage, toilet and team rooms. The first floor has offices, the great play room 70 by 90 feet with a suspended running track. On the upper floor are six rooms whose use is not yet designated. The play room has been used since December, but at this writing (April, 1913) the interior is not wholly finished or furnished. The building is excellent in every particular and will be one of the finest College Gymnasiums in this part of the United States.
(1944-09-18) Student Union opened in the basement of the gymnasium. It was “a combination of book-store, cafeteria, and game room, with music and dancing”. Mrs. Ethyl Vaughn was in charge, and Dr. Nicholas Hyma was the faculty advisor. (Pharos, 1944-09-26)
(1970) New Gymnasium Planned: Old Gym Was Good Investment [West Virginia Wesleyan College Bulletin 1970-03, p.4]
(1979-10-25) 4:00 pm. Dedication of informational plaque and marker honoring the “Old Gym” was held at the site where the entrance to the original gym once stood. This was the dream of David E. Reemsnyder, who spent many years in the building. The marker is constructed on bricks used in the original building. [Sundial News, October 1979]
