Gregory designed and laid the cornerstone for the university's main building, which was to be constructed of gray stone from the Coal Creek area.

Although the construction was completed in 1893, the doors of Westminster University did not open until September 17, 1908 due to the Panic of 1893 and competition from a nearby Presbyterian college.

The school continued in operation until 1917 when enrollment numbers dropped completely due to World War I.

Shattered windows, cracked walls, and broken plaster were the main structural complaints, but the once regal building had also become a glorified barn with thousands of chickens in the basement and farm machinery on the first floor.

[4] In 1997, the Pillar of Fire Church, the school's owner and parent organization, repudiated its historical association with the Klan.