Ropp residence hall on the Bluffton University campus dates back to an earlier era.
The black and white photo shows an early spring view from the treetops - we've not figured out how this was taken. It shows the C. Henry Smith house on the right side and what eventually became the residence of the Bluffton College president (the house is on Grove Street) behind the Smith home.
Other residences are in the photo. The house on the left of Ropp is now a parking lot, but served for a time for student housing in the 1950s and early 1960s.
The English Lutheran Church steeple is also in the background. Another point of interest is that the bank of the Little Riley Creek is completely absence of brush and trees, unlike today.
The black and white photo does not show a bridge acrossing the stream, however the colorized photo shows one.
The colorized photos is from a post card. Look closely and you can see what may be the first first Krehbiel bridge below Ropp, crossing the creek.