421 College Park

421 College Park is located on the campus of the University of Dayton, in Dayton, Ohio. It was built in 1907 and purchased by the University for use as student housing. It was owned by Pi Beta Phi sorority until 2006, when Pi Beta Phi built a new house, and the house was then opened to the regular university housing lottery.

History

The land was originally the site of an ancient Indian burial ground. Artifacts ranging from earthen pottery to stone arrow-heads have been discovered on the site during various construction endeavors. Until the early 1800s the burial ground lay undiscovered, until a farmer from central Massachusettsby the name of Elroy McHaft purchased the land from the newly-established Ohio state government in 1803. While Elroy was clearing the land, he discovered mounds and artifacts, and immediately scampered away screaming in horror. He never sold the land, and it remained abandoned until his death in 1837 from gastrointestinal disease. Upon his death the city of Dayton annexed the land, and in an effort to make the land more suitable for farming, quietly sold or destroyed all of the artifacts buried on the site. The city later sold the land in smaller plots, with the plot of 421 College Park sold to a widower baker named Gregor Pillsbur. Pillsbur built a 2 story brick house on the land and lived there until his death in 1872 from cholera. It was then that the recently established University of Dayton (1850) purchased the land as part of its expansion plans. The University used the house as housing for its Marianists. Nothing of significance happened until 1907, when a Marianist brother was found murdered in his bedroom. The [...] was never found, but it is suspected that [...] was in retaliation for the University annexing several houses in the surrounding neighborhoods in an effort to expand. The University president at the time decided it best to raze the house and rebuild it to accommodate more people. It was during the pre-razing inspection that secret rooms and tunnels underneath the house were discovered. It is thought these passages were used during the 1840s and 1850s as a stop on the Underground Railroad, as Gregor Pillsbur was known among the community as a fervent abolitionist. The new house was used for Marianist housing until 1952, when it was given to the Pi Beta Phi sorority. It remained in their possession until 2006, when Pi Beta Phi moved into a newly built house elsewhere on campus.