Along with Saints' Rest, and a horse barn, it was one of three buildings completed when the college opened for classes in 1857.

By the turn of the 20th century, College Hall had outlived its usefulness, and its future was in doubt.

These included hollow bricks, doors that would not open, a leaky roof (replaced by student labour in the first year), soft pine floorboards that shrank so they did not reach the walls, and even a tree stump embedded in the foundation.

The College considered demolishing the historic edifice, but students organized a campaign to save it from the wrecking ball.

[1] Nevertheless, College Hall was not forgotten; to this day it is featured on the great seal of Michigan State University.