08/28/2026
This month in Geneva History...
On August 10, 1912, Geneva’s original Science Hall (built in 1897) was destroyed by a fire. The Science Hall was rebuilt over the following decades and expanded in the 1960s to become the Science & Engineering Center we know today.
In an August 1912 issue of Christian Nation, Geneva College President Emeritus Dr. William P. Johnston, wrote to the editor regarding the destruction of Science Hall, saying, “I guess nobody could feel so sick as I, when I saw that dreadful fire!” The publication continued, “Who did not feel sick at heart when they read of the burning of Science Hall? But Doctor Johnston, whose very life was built in with its walls, says, ‘Nobody could feel so sick as I!’ Think of laboring, and economizing, and saving, to build a home, and then have it burn down while you looked on, helpless to save it! The Covenanter Church, among the other denominations, is so small; the putting up of Science Hall for our children to study in, was like the er****on of a building by one family. Now it is gone, but our children are left to us, and loving hearts and generous hands will provide for them. Rise, new Science Hall, rise!”
**Historical pictures and information courtesy of the Geneva College Archives.
