The Council of Independent Colleges: Historic Campus Architecture Project

Brewster All-Faiths Chapel

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Brewster All-Faiths Chapel (front facade), Salem Internationl University

Brewster All-Faiths Chapel (rear view), Salem International University

Institution Name: Salem International University
Original/Historic Place Name: Brewster All-Faiths Chapel
Location on Campus: K.D. Hurley Blvd.
Date(s) of Construction:

1986	original construction King, J. D.

Designer: J. D. King
Type of Place: Individual building
Style: Contemporary (Glossary)
Significance: culture, religion
Narrative: see below
References: see below

Materials:

Foundation: reinforced concrete

Walls: brick veneer over concrete block

Roof: asphalt shingles

Function:

ca. 1986-present (2006)

chapel

Narrative:
"Salem College was founded under the auspices of the Seventh Day Baptist Education Society, but it has received financial support and student patronage from people of all other faiths represented in the community. The instruction and service of the school have always been nonsectarian." (Orestes S. Bond, Light of the Hills [Charleston, WV. Education Foundation, 1960], 261). The College-Seventh Day association was an informal one.

When the Valley of Learning was constructed in the early 1970s, people began to think about the need for a chapel as a nonsectarian place for meditation and worship for all students. It was made possible through a gift from Salem College Trustee Emeritus Colonel James H. Brewster, Jr. and June L. Brewster.

References:

Bond, S. Orestes. The Light of the Hills: A History of Salem College. Charleston, WV: Education Foundation, 1960.

Davis, Dorothy Upton. History of Harrison County, West Virginia. Clarksburg, WV: American Association of University Women, 1970.

Smith, Myron J. 100 Years of Opportunity: A Pictorial History of Salem College, 1888-1988. Marceline, MO: Walsworth Press, 1988.

Zinn, Timothy G. A Historic Preservation Plan for Salem, West Virginia. Murfreesboro, TN, Middle Tennessee State University, 1995.