Local individuals soon donated land and money for the construction of buildings, and the Ohio General Assembly issued a charter on March 7, 1850.

Built of brick,[3]: 1  Bailey is an Italianate structure that rests on a stone foundation and is topped with a hip roof.

[3]: 2 Based on a stone foundation, Oak Hall is a square brick structure built in the Greek Revival style of architecture.

The building has been modified by the addition of a small two-story wing with a massive chimney around the beginning of the twentieth century.

[1] Their designation as a historic district was due primarily to their place in local history:[4] Urbana University was one of a large number of religious colleges founded in Ohio during the middle of the nineteenth century.