Because Meredith College has been on its current campus for 100 years, its original downtown campus tends to be forgotten. And because there were only 4 acres, and Raleigh has changed and grown and modernized, all traces of the school have disappeared. But for twenty years, it was home for students from North Carolina, from numerous other states and even a few other countries. Here are some photos to recall those days.
When the original real estate was purchased and Main Building constructed, the campus was thought to be large enough to contain incoming students, but even from the first day, rooms were overflowing: 3,4 and even 5 students were housed in rooms intended for two. The Adams House, located conveniently next door, was immediately purchased and was renamed East Building - which housed "The Club," a dorm for students who did their own domestic chores for reduced room and board. And fortunately, William Faircloth, an original trustee, willed money to to the Baptist Female University that enabled it to build a new dorm - "the last word in suitable construction" - and named Faircloth Hall (1904.)
But even this additional space was still not enough for the young women who came "in an ever-increasing stream," so that "every other available house and lot on the square was purchased." The McKee place was acquired in 1913 and subsequently called simply, the "Home Economics Building." In 1914, Argo Cottage was purchased, followed by the Adams Cottage in 1919. According to a speech in 1924, "And still the girls came and filled every available space. We crossed Person Street and began to purchase on two other squares, and rented upon a third. We crossed Blount Street and rented the largest building anywhere in the neighborhood."
In a 1927 Twig article, a writer is already reminiscing about the old campus the college had left behind. In addition to the above named buildings, the final list now included Person Street Cottage, Teachers Cottage and possibly Ennis Cottage and Broughton House. Some of these may be doubly referenced; frankly, with changing names and unclear locations and dates, the history of these buildings can be difficult to follow.
The small downtown campus also included some limited recreational resources for calisthenics, basketball and tennis. The grounds were also used for special occasions such as May Day, Class Day and commencement. But feeling squeezed, limited and exposed, Meredith College moved to the new campus in January 1926.
Main Building - the first building on the new college's site. The four floors encompassed most of the college's functions, but the number of students immediately overwhelmed the available dorm space, leading to the purchase of East Building and the construction of Faircloth Hall.
For more photographs of Main, including the interior spaces, see the "Main Building" tab: Main Building (Old Campus)
An aerial photograph with the Meredith College campus at center. Main Building, with its complicated Queen Anne architecture is at the left, with Faircloth and East along the street. Other campus buildings are more difficult to identify, although the Teachers Building is probably at the top and the cottages are likely on the right border. The Governors Mansion is partially visible at the top. This image is from the State Archives of North Carolina.
A 1903 Sanborn Map of the Baptist Female University. The Main Building is at lower left and East Building at lower right. Faircloth Hall would be built between them in 1904. The Home Economics Building, purchased in 1913, is likely the building on the top left corner. Eventually, the college purchased most of the buildings on the block and crossed Blount and Person Streets.
The Sanborn Map Company produced large-scale color maps of commercial and industrial districts of some 12,000 towns and cities in North America to assist fire insurance companies in setting rates and terms.
May Day in 1918 with Main Building in the background.
Located next to Main Building, Faircloth Hall was named for William Turner Faircloth, the North Carolina judge who left an early bequest to the new Baptist college. This was fortunate, because from its opening in 1899, there were too many students and too little dormitory space, despite the Board of Trustees buying two existing houses already on the college's square. Faircloth added room for 96 students, plus the practice pianos, four "recitation rooms" (classrooms) and the halls for the Astrotekton and Phioretian societies. (When the campus moved to its present location, the name was carried to a new dormitory.)
The "In and Outs of Faircloth Hall" from the 1911 Oak Leaves.
To look at the images in more detail, see: "Ins and Outs of Faircloth"
In addition to rooms for the students, the fourth floor of Faircloth housed separate meeting places for the Astrotekton and Philoretian Societies. The 1907-08 Quarterly Bulletin boasted of these halls:
They are about 50 by 75 feet , and are well-lighted. They accomodate the societies very well, and each of these has done much toward furnishing its own hall. They have pianos, handsome chairs, druggets, tapestry, and pictures of leading statesmen and poets.
Photographs of the campus from the 1917 Oak Leaves. The top building is East Building; it housed students that did their own housekeeping for reduced fees as part of the "University Boarding Club," known less formally as "The Club." (For more on "The Club," see the tab on the main page.)
The bottom building is probably the Home Economics Building, purchased in 1913.
Photographs of three "cottages" from the 1917 Oak Leaves. Unfortunately, they are not named in the yearbook, but are likely three of those owned by the college: North Cottage, South Cottage, Argo Cottage or Person Street Cottage. (Other properties were rented.) The cottages were used as housing for students and instructors.
Enjoying the snow in 1910.
While the downtown campus was small, it did include a tennis court, a basketball court and a calisthenics area. Regular exercise was considered very important for the students' health. These photos are from the 1913 yearbook. Students played recreationally as individuals, as part of clubs and on class teams.
Exercising in the outdoor gymasium - from a student's photo album covering 1909-1914. This area included "climbing ropes, teeter ladders, giant stride or merry-go-round, vaulting bars, chest bars and flying rings." The May 1908-09 Quarterly Bulletin prescribed:
Every student not a Senior is required to exercise three one-half hours a week in the Gynasium, from November 1st to April 1st .... (S)he must wear the regulation gymnasium suit. ....Regular exercise in the open air of not less than one-half hour daily through the year is required of every young woman unless excused by the resident Physician or Director.
On Field Day, held in the spring, students competed for ribbons in a variety of athletic events. In 1914 the contests were listed as: wands, rings, dumb-bells, flower mazurka, high jump, teeter ladders, broad jump, medicine balls, and horizontal bar.
Puzzling out a problem on a swing (1915.)
Appearing in multiple photographs, this sundial was a gift of the Class of 1917 and was located somewhere on campus - probably behind the cottages.
One of the advertised attractions promoted to the young women considering Meredith College was its proximity to downtown Raleigh - for the various entertainments, for walks, for the shopping, and for the city library. Of course, the students' activities were strictly monitored, rule-bound and and chaperoned.
This was the type of behavior frowned upon by college officials. They did not approve of the young ladies of Meredith College at the windows, visible to any and all passersby in downtown Raleigh. This snapshot is from Vera Milton's 1921-1925 scrapbook in the Archives.
Carlyle Campbell Library
Meredith College
3800 Hillsborough St.
Raleigh, NC 27607
919-760-8532
