State brownfield funds to help restore Hotel McArthur, Maude Collins House
Nearly $1 million in state brownfield money will help clear fire debris at Hotel McArthur and push the Maude Collins House toward reuse in downtown McArthur.
Hotel McArthur and the Maude Collins House are set to benefit from nearly $1 million in state brownfield funding awarded to the Vinton County Commissioners.
Ohio’s Brownfield Remediation Program cleans up abandoned, idled or underused sites with known or potential contamination so they can be put back into economic use. On May 14, the state listed 46 counties with brownfield set-aside funding available, up to $1 million apiece, and Vinton County’s award now places two of its most visible historic structures in line for work in the middle of the village. The money is meant to support cleanup and redevelopment in the middle of the village.
Hotel McArthur has been at the center of that effort for years. The Vinton County Convention and Visitors Bureau bought the building in December 2021 and has been planning a restoration that would strip away later additions and return the hotel to the appearance it had during its 1840 to 1940 heyday. The 186-year-old building at 101 East Main Street is the oldest surviving structure still in use in Vinton County. The hotel suffered fire damage in January 2026, and Vinton County submitted a Brownfield Remediation Program application on December 4, 2025, for $879,244 to clean up fire debris and stabilize the structure. Cleanup is set to begin in spring 2026, with the work unfolding in phases.
About $5 million in federal funds has been secured for capital improvements to renovate portions of Hotel McArthur into a new visitors center, and board minutes include environmental, heritage and HUD-related work tied to the restoration.
Maude Collins was appointed sheriff on October 9, 1925, after her husband, Fletcher Collins, was killed in the line of duty, and she became Ohio’s first female sheriff. A historical marker beside the Vinton County Courthouse went up in 2019, the county proclaimed October 9 as Maude Collins Day in 2024 and a mural honoring her was dedicated on October 9, 2025, painted by Pamela Kellough.
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