Columbus Rural Rest Home

This is the parlor of the main building of the Columbus Rural Rest Home. Known as the Lodge, this building was originally the summer home of Columbus businessman John J. Joyce and later owned by Lena Hoster whose family owned Hoster Brewers. The building did not orignially have central heating, although it did have a fireplace, visible along the far wall. When used as a summer home, heat was not a problem. After purchase of the property in 1919 by the Hardings, the heating problem was creatively solved by installation of a junk fire engine in the basement for steam heat. First a basement had to be dug under the lodge. Business manager Dr. D. K. Nicola was responsible for acquiring the boiler from a fire truck engine. The first floor Lodge parlor served as dining room for Harding Hospital patients and also provided a venue for educational programs, medical staff meetings, public gatherings, arts and craft shows, employee parties and vesper services. Early services for the Seventh-day Adventist Church were held in the Lodge parlor prior to the construction of the church on Griswold Street. Many Adventists worked at the Columbus Rural Rest home and the Lodge parlor provided a place for Church services.