Buildings History

The Ellen Brewer Home Management House was named for Ellen Brewer, daughter of Meredith College's third president Charles Brewer, a member of the Class of 1918, and Chairman of the Department of Home Economics from 1922 to 1960. Construction of the house began in 1959, and was completed in 1960. The project was funded by Talcott Brewer, a cousin of Ellen Brewer and the son of Samuel Wait Brewer, a school trustee.  

Originally, Brewer House served as a practical training laboratory for seniors and married students majoring in Home Economics; students would live in the house for four weeks, rotating responsibilities as hostess, cook, assistant cook and housekeeper, practicing the management of a household. The house management program was originally located in three suites in Vann Hall, which had been modified for the purpose, but when those rooms were needed to house students in 1958, the program moved to a rented house on Hillsborough Street - which proved inconvenient and expensive. 

With the Brewer House on campus, students in this program had access to all the components of a well-designed modern house with storage cabinets and numerous modern labor-saving appliances: dishwasher, washer and dryer, vacuum cleaner and floor polisher.

Today, the Ellen Brewer Infant/Toddler Lab Home - the name was changed in 1991 -  houses an on-campus child care program for children from 6 weeks to 2 years. Child development students working in the lab have the opportunity to participate in hands-on observation and participation during the academic year. Recently the EBH earned a five-star rating – the highest available - on the Infant Toddler Environmental Rating Scale (ITERS)  as assessed by the NC Rated License Assessment Project.