Monday, August 18, 2003
The north end of campus has two buildings that look over Lawrence: Gertrude Sellards Pearson and Corbin halls. Though the buildings are important to students now, both misrepresent the site’s historical significance.
These residence halls sit on the land where the first building at the University of Kansas stood.
The building, named North College Hall, had 55 students — 29 men and 26 women — when it opened on Sept. 12, 1866. According to University archives, North College Hall had only three professors at the time.
Ferdinand Fuller designed the three-story, 50-foot tall building. Fuller named the area Mount Oread, according to www.kuconnections.org.
The campus, once called “Devil’s Backbone,” spread west along the ridges of Mount Oread.
North College Hall was constructed of stone and brick with a stucco exterior. It was the University’s home from 1866 to 1872.
Professors Francis H. Snow and David H. Robinson and Elial J. Rice taught in the building. The faculty members earned $1,600 a year.
In 1872, the University built Fraser Hall and classes moved there because the student population was too large to hold classes in the 11-room North College Hall.
North College Hall was vacant for nine years and, in 1881, Kansas legislature decided to take possession of the building and turn it into an asylum for children.
According to 1885 state laws, the objectives of the asylum were to train and educate patients on how to support and take better care of themselves. The asylum housed children under the age of 15.
The asylum moved to Winfield in 1889.
North College Hall housed the University’s law school until 1893. From 1893 to 1917, the hall became the home for the School of Fine Arts. The school moved out of the building in 1917 because the hall swayed in strong winds.
In 1919, the Victory Liberty Loan Tank blasted shots at the vacant, decaying building, destroying it. According to an article in The Graduate Magazine of the University of Kansas by Karl Gridley, 4,000 students and Lawrence residents watched this destruction.
In 1923, Corbin Hall was built on the vacant 10-acre land. GSP was built in 1955. Outside GSP-Corbin, a fire basket and stone from the first building in the University’s history stand as a quiet reminder of the University's beginnings.
Graduation traditions have long history
From the procession to walking through the Campanile, commencement dates back more ...
On The Record: Sept. 12, 2007
Here is on the record for Sept. 12, 2007.
Parking regulations loosen up over summer months
Scholarship and residence hall lots provide free parking.
University disregards safety issues
Students use Spencer library and museum to ...
Spencer Research Library has more than a million photos available for academic ...
How we met
The odd couple
GSP will go coed in fall of ...
Reasons for shift include fewer requests for single-gender housing and dining hall ...
GSP could be coed
GSP, now an all-female residence hall, could become home to male students
Eugenics practices ended in Kansas 50 years ...
Forced sterilization of mentally disabled people was once widely supported and practiced ...
‘Schol Hall Land’ appeals to many
KU graduate’s photo lands on magazine
Picture taken at the Wakarusa festival was selected to be on the ...
Lawrence packs a paranormal punch
Despite not being included in most haunted list, Lawrence has a ghostly ...
New humanities site features historic facade
Editorial: Students can take action against housing ...
If students are against housing and dining increases, they should take actions ...
On Campus: September 25, 2007
Want to know what's going on around town today? Check out what's ...
Taking on the color barrier, twice
Thirty years after becoming the first black KU athletes, three brothers fought ...
Monumental Figures: The historic minds behind Campus ...
A historical look at student interactions with KU's public art.
Hallowed halls of history
Friday marks the 102nd anniversary of the discovery of helium on earth. ...
Joseph R. Pearson Hall
The School of Education's home has stood on campus for 50 years.
Residence hall redos down the road
Oliver Hall, McCollum Hall, GSP-Corbin Hall and Jayhawker Towers remain without renovations.
Strike a pose
The story and significance behind some of KU’s most famous figures
Fact check: Common on-campus myths
New to campus? You may start to hear several tall tales about ...
Sex in a bunk bed
Residence hall romps prove tricky
Boultinghouse: Campus buildings personified
If these walls could talk, they'd sound like Clint Eastwood.
Back to basics: guide to the University
Learn where the Rock Chalk chant came from and where the one-way ...
Panorama exhibit hides century-long tradition
Natural History Museum employees sign a cave behind the display before leaving ...
Personal information stolen from student residents at ...
All of the students affected by the theft have been notified, according ...
Lawrence group hopes to revamp train station
Sante Fe Depot represents Midwestern modern architecture and may get a face ...
New security system in place at residence ...
The Department of Student Housing’s new card-scanning system will require students to ...
Parking and transit outlines procedures for move-in
Residents will be able to use 20-minute loading zones to move in.
Know your Student Senate candidates
Learn more about the candidates for Student Senate
Campus construction slows traffic
Needed steam tunnel repairs during the summer closes roads.
Hunting for Hauntings
Historic Murphy-Bromelsick House now open to public
John Speer built the house and advocated for University and rebuilding Lawrence ...
Lawrence's landlord: a developer's story
Doug Compton, owner of First Management, has helped guide Lawrence's development for ...
GSP residence hall to undergo renovations
Following the end of the school year, GSP Hall will undergo an ...
Did You Know: Nov. 15
Elizabeth Miller Watkins was one of the University’s biggest benefactors during the ...
Unusual methods for an unusual construction site ...
Crews are working on the foundation of M2SEC
Residence halls prepare for Thanksgiving feast
A Thanksgiving feast fit for thousands of hungry college students — including ...
Shooting stuns students
After campus lock down, students at Virginia Tech try to contact friends. ...
Kansas Jayhawk fans hold aloft a reproduction of ...
2 comments
Erin Saupe, a Ph.D. student from St. Cloud, ...
1 comment
0 comments
Armed robbers continue to threaten.
3 comments
Lecture from Greg Mortenson, co-author of New York ...
0 comments
KUnited presidential candidate Libby Johnson and vice presidential ...
1 comment
Comments
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.
Sign in to comment
Or login with:
OpenID