A pre-Civil War Berea building that served as a Civil War hospital and morgue and later a Baldwin Wallace dormitory, long called the campus's most haunted hall before its retirement and planned demolition.
School Street at Seminary Street (Baldwin Wallace University South Campus), Berea, OH 44017
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Private university property. The building was retired in 2018 and is slated for demolition; the site is not open for public interior access. View only from adjacent public streets.
Access
Limited Access
Urban campus sidewalks; building interior closed.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1858 · Civil War hospital and morgue · Former Methodist children's home · Contributing building in a National Register historic district (1975) · Featured in Chris Woodyard's 'Haunted Ohio' series
Kohler Hall occupied one of the oldest structures associated with Baldwin Wallace University in Berea, a Cleveland suburb in Cuyahoga County. According to the university's own historical encyclopedia and a Western Reserve Historical Society map of Berea, the original building existed as early as 1858 and was expanded over the following decades.
Before Baldwin Wallace acquired the property in 1913, the building had several institutional lives. University and local histories record its use as a Methodist children's home and, during the Civil War, as a hospital and morgue. Tradition holds that an underground passage allowed the deceased to be carried to the Lindsay-Crossman Chapel across the street. The building is a contributing structure within a National Register historic district associated with the German Wallace College and Baldwin University campuses (listed 1975).
From 1913 until 2018, Kohler Hall served as a student residence hall. In 2018 the university retired the building from service. A 2022 Berea News report and a preservation architect's assessment concluded that moisture trapped between the original brick and a 1910 cement coating had caused severe structural damage, rendering the building unsafe and unsalvageable. Baldwin Wallace announced plans to demolish the structure, convert the site to green space, salvage architectural materials, and install a historical marker. As of the most recent reporting, demolition was planned but a firm date had not been confirmed.
Sources
Kohler Hall's reputation as the most haunted building at Baldwin Wallace was widely repeated in campus tradition and regional ghost-lore collections, and the hall was featured in Chris Woodyard's 'Haunted Ohio' book series. Students living there reported nighttime experiences including the sighting of a hazy figure nicknamed the 'Blue Haze,' the sound of a girl screaming, and bedding being pulled away as residents slept.
The building's basement drew particular attention. Local and campus accounts describe a tunnel lined with drawers said to have been used to store the dead during the Civil War, with bodies carried through to the chapel across the street for funerals. Residents reported footsteps and doors opening for no apparent reason throughout the building.
These stories are anecdotal student lore; what is documented is the building's institutional history as a Civil War hospital and morgue and as a children's home, the factual underpinning that gave rise to the hauntings. With the building retired and slated for demolition, Kohler Hall survives chiefly in this folklore and in the university's own historical record.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
See the exterior of the historic Kohler Hall building from the public streets of Baldwin Wallace's south campus, part of a National Register historic district. The building is closed and slated for demolition; a historical marker is planned for the site.
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