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Two historic Wesleyan buildings face different futures in Mt. Pleasant
MPCSD plans for P. E.O. Memorial Building demolition, while Hershey Hall renovation begins
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
MT. PLEASANT — Two of the most recognizable buildings on the former Iowa Wesleyan University campus — the P.E.O. Memorial Building and Hershey Hall — are moving toward very different fates, even as residents and leaders weigh how to balance heritage with cost.
Iowa Wesleyan, founded in 1842, was Iowa’s first coeducational institution and among the oldest west of the Mississippi River. For more than 180 years the campus served as an academic and cultural anchor for Mt. Pleasant, but the university closed in 2023 under mounting financial strain. The Mt. Pleasant Community School District (MPCSD) acquired a large portion of the central campus, and the question of what to do with its historic buildings soon followed.
At the Sept. 8 MPCSD board meeting, members detailed plans to move forward with asbestos abatement and demolition of the P.E.O. Memorial Building.
“Next bullet point is the … P.E.O. Memorial Building. Continuing to move forward with that,” School Board member Derek Mullin began. “We do know that there's going to need to be some asbestos abatement.”
According to Mullin, the abatement ranges between $65,000-105,000, however, the demolition of the P.E.O. Memorial Building will greatly increase that number.
“Total cost for the abatement and demolition could be between $400,00 and $500,000,” Mullin shared.
As the board discussed the P. E. O Memorial Building, MPCSD Superintendent John Henriksen shared some new information.
“We received a quote from Hawkeye Environmental for the additional hazardous material testing that is going to be necessary,” Henriksen said. “It was significantly less than the quote we had from Terracon.”
This testing is set to begin this Friday, Sept. 12, then Hawkeye Environmental will put together specifications and a scope of work for the abatement by Oct. 1. From then the district will gather quotes for the abatement work.
Next, Henriksen said the abatement work would take approximately two to three weeks and could conclude around Nov. 1.
Henriksen offered tentative important dates:
Sept. 19 Publish notice to potential bidders for demolition
Sept. 22 Change work session to special section in order to set public hearing date for Oct. 13
Oct. 15 prebid conference at 2 p.m. followed by a walk through of the work site
Oct. 27 Deadline for receiving sealed bids before 2 p.m. and the board will open, read, and tabulate those on the same day, followed by another work session turned special session to discuss
Oct. 29 Provide written notice to contractor to proceed
Dec. 8 Work to be substantially complete on or before that date
Dec. 15 work to be finalized and done at the site
“This is the next step in the process,” Henriksen said. “As the abatement work is going on we can get sealed bids for the actual demolition and the board is making decisions all throughout the process on moving it forward.”
The board approved an agreement with Thomas McInerney Architect to provide professional design services for the P.E.O. Memorial Building demolition project for $26,600.
This demolition will bring an end to a building with a rich history that stretches even beyond Mt. Pleasant.
According to the International P. E. O website, the groundbreaking for this building took place in 1927 with many original members of the philanthropic women’s organization it is named after: P.E.O. This organization was initially founded on the Iowa Wesleyan Campus in 1869 by seven students. Nearly 60 years later, the members raised $100,000 to build the P.E.O. Memorial Library.
In most recent years, prior to the University’s closure, the building served as an art gallery for many students and held numerous records.
While the P. E. O Memorial Building has significant roots in the community and the P. E. O organization, it is not on a historical registry. This means the board can move ahead with its plans without additional steps.
For some, the demolition represents a difficult loss. The P.E.O. organization, which grew from its Iowa Wesleyan roots to an international membership of more than 200,000, remains active in supporting women’s education.
While the school district steers the P.E.O.’s fate, Hershey Hall tells a different story. Built in 1899 as a women’s residence hall, the project was made possible by a $10,000 fundraising challenge from Muscatine benefactor Elizabeth Hershey. It was one of only two campus buildings named for women, the other being the Carol J. Nemitz Suites, opened in 2006.
Unlike the P.E.O. building, Hershey Hall was not part of the district’s acquisition. Instead, private developers Chris Ales and Jim Bergman — Hershey Hall LLC — who purchased the structure and are advancing plans to turn it into apartments. County leaders approved incentives to support the redevelopment, which is now in the demolition and renovation phase.
Local residents see Hershey Hall as one of Mt. Pleasant’s most distinctive buildings.
“I really like the architecture of that complex,” nearby Mt. Pleasant resident Jerry Shafar said. It has many of the exterior qualities of a castle. Looks like something you might see in the UK or Ireland.”
“I think it's the only building in town with a gargoyle, but years ago there were two in Mrs. Crane’s garden pond,” Joseph Campbell added to a post on social media showing the beginning of work Aug. 20.
Mt. Pleasant Building and Zoning Administrator Gary Shahan confirmed that the project is currently in the demolition and discovery stage. This means that the developers will be working to expose everything inside Hershey Hall to understand exactly what needs done so they can build it back up.
This is only the first visually apparent phase of work on Hershey Hall. Following much work, the former university building is intended to offer a modern residential facility. The plan is for Hershey Hall to become home to 22 income-qualified apartments through the use of housing tax credits.
Much like Nemitz Hall, which retained it’s original name after renovations, Hershey Hall also will retain it’s historic name, according to Property manager Deneil Inman.
The diverging paths of these two landmarks capture the tension facing Mt. Pleasant as it absorbs the closure of a 180-year-old university. One structure, tied to an organization born on campus and spread worldwide, appears headed for demolition despite its symbolic history. The other, defined by its castle-like exterior and long role in student life, is being reshaped by private developers to serve the community in a new way.
Comments: AnnaMarie.Kruse@southeastiowaunion.com
