GAMBIER – As planning continues for the renovation of the Buckeye Candy building in downtown Mount Vernon, Kenyon College has decided to leave the Mail Pouch Tobacco sign in place on the outside south wall.
Kenyon recognizes and appreciates community interest in the sign, an example of a familiar advertising campaign that endured for most of the 20th century.
An older version of the Mail Pouch sign was painted on the building as early as 1913 and the current advertisement was painted in 1986. The sign on the Buckeye building is one of nine in Knox County, according to Mail Pouch Barnstormers, a Wisconsin-based preservation group. Exterior renovation involving windows on the wall and brick repair work may affect the sign.
The renovation of the building, 400 S. Main St., into a venue for community engagement and Kenyon academic programs will begin in September, thanks to the support of the Ariel Foundation and the Community Foundation of Mount Vernon & Knox County. Kenyon will share more specific plans for the building as they become available.
The Buckeye Candy Building’s Mail Pouch mural will remain – KnoxPages.com photo by Marty Trese
Kenyon acquired the historic, three-story building on May 15. Kenyon will establish a community engagement office on the first floor and will use the upper floors for academic programs. The landmark building will also be the new home of the Science Play-Space Initiative – the children’s science-based activity center also known as SPI Spot. SPI Spot, now at 225-227 S. Main St., will occupy most of the first floor.
The Kelser-Dowds Co. opened the 18,000-square-foot brick, concrete and steel building for its wholesale grocery business in 1910. The building was sold to the Buckeye Candy and Tobacco Co. about 60 years later.
