Routt Catholic to tear down McClelland Hall after costly fire

The historic McClelland Hall on the former campus of MacMurray College is demolished after the estimates for the restoration were significantly higher than the expected board of the Catholic high school of owners Routt Catholic High School.

The building was significantly damaged by a fire in June, which destroyed the kitchen and left holes and smoke and water damage in the entire building. People who took cabling and other materials from the empty building after fire cause additional damage.

Chad beautiful, President of the Rutt School Board, said the board brought several contractors to assess ownership in the hope of restoring and use.

“We had the full intent to carry out a kind of renovation or restoration,” said Schneene. “A large part of their advice was to tear down the building and start again. After hearing the advice and saw what the commandments were, it was simply not plausible for us to restore it.

The hope was to restore the building and as a hall to use it for storage or possibly as a weight room, but even the return to a level that is sufficient to use, since the storage includes considerable costs, said Schone.

Since the decision to demolish the building, the board has enabled members of the MacMurray College Alumni Association and the Jacksonville Area Museum to enter the building to collect badges and other objects in which they are interested.

Bricks in front of the building are also safe for those who are interested in keeping them.

Firefighters responded on June 9 to a report about a fire in CREARD CATERING, which was housed in the former McClelland Hall. The eastern part of the building in which the kitchen area was housed suffered most of the damage. This part of the building has already been demolished.

The McClelland Dining Hall was built during a 20-year expansion of the MacMurray College in the 1920s. It was based on the eighth president of the college, Dr. Clarence McClelland, named.

Over the years, the hall was used by students and community organizations. It was at home for years to the annual Kiwanis Club Pancake and Wurst Day, which will take place on the Morgan County Fairgrounds this year. It has also been an event room since the college was closed.

Michael Hayes donated the property to Rutt to use the school but needed school; He also provided a donation to cover the costs for the renovation costs.

The demolition of the building is expected to begin next week, said Schneene. After the demolition, the dirt and rocks are brought in, the parking lot of the school is expanded and the rest of the property is planted with grass, he said.

“For the time being, we will plant grass in the area, but if necessary, we will have the opportunity to expand in the future in the future,” said Schneene. “We want the option for future growth.”