{"id":1808,"date":"2024-04-26T20:11:46","date_gmt":"2024-04-26T20:11:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/?p=1808"},"modified":"2026-04-16T01:38:48","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T01:38:48","slug":"williams-hall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/williams-hall\/","title":{"rendered":"Williams Hall (1869\u20141919)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Williams Hall, date unknown. Image source: MSU Archives<\/a><\/span>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

With the passage of the Morrill Act in 1862, friends of the University at Ann Arbor began to covet the potentially lucrative grant of lands to the Agricultural College. That year a joint legislative committee recommended that the grant, and the agricultural school, be transferred to the University. The proposal drew substantial support from around the state, particularly in the southeast where, as some put it, \u201cthe state\u2019s better farmers could more conveniently visit.\u201d Its opponents had a stronger argument, however, not merely limited to the costs of relocation and the unavailability of farmland close to Ann Arbor: Nothing would prevent the University from using the Morrill grant to educate, \u201cnot farmers and mechanics, but students of law, medicine, and the liberal arts.\u201d1<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 1863 Legislature voted to assign the Morrill grant to the Agricultural College, but the merger debate reared its head again in the biennial sessions of \u201965, \u201967, and \u201969. However the 1869 debate was short-lived, and the Legislature in March of that year gave the College not only the standard grant, but also $30,000 for a new dormitory. This sent a firm message\u2014\u201cend of discussion\u201d\u2014and the College\u2019s separate existence was never again seriously challenged, Engineering<\/a> notwithstanding.2<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new dormitory, designed by William Henry Mallory of Ann Arbor and built by Edwards & Cooper of Ypsilanti, was begun almost immediately and was ready for occupancy the following year. The final cost was $1,500 over budget. Located on the hill about midway between College Hall<\/a> and Saints\u2019 Rest<\/a> (where the Museum<\/a> is today), it stood four stories tall with a dramatic mansard roof and a tower that loomed one hundred feet above the grade. It held living quarters for as many as eighty-six students, thus enabling the College to expand by admitting those who previously could not enroll due to lack of space. The basement held a large dining hall that served the entire student body. In later years this room was cut into thirds,†<\/a><\/sup> and while continuing to serve as dining rooms the separate spaces were also used as meeting rooms for student clubs, literary societies<\/a>, and the Y.M.C.A., which affiliated with a local student group in 1881.3<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Hon.
Hon. J. R. Williams, M.A.C. President (1857\u20131859).
Image source: Beal<\/a>, p. 23.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At first, the dormitory was simply known as the \u201cnew hall,\u201d distinguishing it from the \u201cold hall,\u201d later known as Saints\u2019 Rest<\/a>. When Saints\u2019 Rest burned down in 1876 and another \u201cnew hall\u201d was built to replace it, it became necessary to give the two \u201cnew\u201d halls proper names. The newer hall became the first Wells Hall<\/a>. The 1869 dormitory was named for Joseph Rickelson Williams (1808\u20131861). Williams, a Harvard-educated politician and founder of the Toledo Blade<\/em> newspaper, served as M.A.C.\u2019s first President from May 1857 to March 1859. Then, as state senator, he helped to save the school from ruin by sponsoring the Reorganization Act of 1861<\/a>, which was enacted just three months before his untimely death.4<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Williams Hall surely was the center of collegiate life for many years. The bell in its tower chimed each morning to wake the students, and tolled the end of each class period. Fondly known as \u201cBill\u2019s Hall\u201d or \u201cOld Bill,\u201d it was the site of many a sophomoric prank\u2014the \u201990-\u201991 Y.M.C.A. Handbook<\/em> warned freshmen, \u201cdon\u2019t sit on the steps, nor stand long near them. You may get wet if you do.\u201d The basement hall even acted as a temporary classroom for the new school district when it was formed in 1900 until Central School<\/a> was completed the following year.5<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Williams Hall burns, 1 January 1919. Image source: MSU Archives<\/a><\/span>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Somewhat prophetically, Beal wrote in 1913 that \u201ca marked defect in the building was discovered later, viz: in not deafening the floors and separating into wards after the manner of new [second]\u00a0Wells Hall<\/a>.\u201d Little did Beal know that on January 1, 1919, Williams Hall would burn to the ground. Thankfully there were no injuries, as the hall was vacant in the interim between Army trainees that had been billeted there while learning truck maintenance, and the regular students who had not yet returned from vacation.††<\/a><\/sup> 6<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately the College received no appropriation, and its own budget was stretched too thin, to replace the dormitory, so housing once again was tight. Compounding the problem, in 1920 Abbot Hall<\/a> was made into a women\u2019s dormitory, reducing even further the number of men\u2019s rooms on campus. Finally in the winter of 1920\u201321 the Board of Agriculture ended a 25-year ban on Greek letter fraternities, which brought several new chapters to town and allowed the local literary societies<\/a> to affiliate with national organizations. The combination of these three factors caused an explosion in off-campus housing, and within a year or two \u201cfour-fifths of the men were living off the campus\u2026 [and] eating at such places as the Wildwood Cafeteria<\/a>, Ed Higgs\u2019 College Cafe, or the College Drug.\u201d7<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n

  1. Kuhn<\/a>, p.\u00a077. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  2. Kuhn<\/a>, pp.\u00a078\u201379, 81. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  3. Minutes<\/a>, 31\u00a0Mar\u00a01869, p.\u00a0184.\u00a0Beal<\/a>, p.\u00a0268.\u00a0Kuhn<\/a>, pp.\u00a081, 83, 92. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  4. Beal<\/a>, pp.\u00a022, 385\u2013386. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  5. Kuhn<\/a>, pp.\u00a0189, 264.\u00a0Miller<\/a>, p.\u00a034. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  6. Beal<\/a>, p.\u00a0268.\u00a0Kuhn<\/a>, pp.\u00a0263, 270. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  7. Minutes<\/a>, 8\u00a0Dec\u00a01920, p.\u00a0489.\u00a0Kuhn<\/a>, p.\u00a0325. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li><\/ol>
    1. † In the early 1880s, students began to complain about rising costs and poor quality of meals at the College. Professor Carpenter<\/a>, among others, encouraged the formation of \u201ccooperative boarding clubs where the prices [of meals] might vary according to the taste and affluence of members. In the spring of 1883 all [students] were divided among five clubs.\u201d Hence the division of Williams<\/a>\u2019 dining hall into thirds, and the unused armory in Wells<\/a>\u2019 basement in half, resulting in five separate dining halls for the boarding clubs. [Kuhn<\/a>, p.126]\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/span><\/li>
    2. †† God willing, it appears that Williams Hall was the last major building destroyed by fire on campus. It also appears that despite the several fires the College withstood in just over 42 years \u2014\u00a0Saints\u2019 Rest<\/a>, first\u00a0Botany Lab<\/a>,\u00a0Station Terrace<\/a>, first\u00a0Wells Hall<\/a>,\u00a0Engineering<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Shops<\/a>, and\u00a0Williams Hall<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 no human lives were ever lost. (Though one waggish alumnus, in reference to Williams\u2019 \u201cbed bug alley,\u201d said that \u201cthe loss of life must have been terrible.\u201d)[Kuhn<\/a>, p.263]\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/span><\/li><\/ol>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      With the passage of the Morrill Act in 1862, friends of the University at Ann Arbor began to covet the potentially lucrative grant of lands to the Agricultural College. That year a joint legislative committee recommended that the grant, and the agricultural school, be transferred to the University. The proposal drew substantial support from around […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"[{\"content\":\"Kuhn<\/a>, p.\u00a077.\",\"id\":\"296473ac-470f-4712-9954-02e617f9c08c\"},{\"content\":\"Kuhn<\/a>, pp.\u00a078\u201379, 81.\",\"id\":\"b8af5392-513e-416e-b0a6-7e2d7854781e\"},{\"content\":\"Minutes<\/a>, 31\u00a0Mar\u00a01869, p.\u00a0184.\u00a0Beal<\/a>, p.\u00a0268.\u00a0Kuhn<\/a>, pp.\u00a081, 83, 92.\",\"id\":\"3763de23-e9d9-47fb-8ff4-cd61a2fc5d7e\"},{\"content\":\"Beal<\/a>, pp.\u00a022, 385\u2013386.\",\"id\":\"73eadb4d-8516-423a-88e6-f05cbacfdb0f\"},{\"content\":\"Kuhn<\/a>, pp.\u00a0189, 264.\u00a0Miller<\/a>, p.\u00a034.\",\"id\":\"af488fde-f4a6-495a-babd-5ae45adf1a8f\"},{\"content\":\"Beal<\/a>, p.\u00a0268.\u00a0Kuhn<\/a>, pp.\u00a0263, 270.\",\"id\":\"98af9aa9-db96-41ff-a608-4a997a70b73c\"},{\"content\":\"Minutes<\/a>, 8\u00a0Dec\u00a01920, p.\u00a0489.\u00a0Kuhn<\/a>, p.\u00a0325.\",\"id\":\"17661a72-b457-453b-a113-1015a1a58a08\"}]"},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1808","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-m-a-c-buildings"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1808","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1808"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1808\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5740,"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1808\/revisions\/5740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1808"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1808"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1808"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}