Gorgas–Manly Historic District
Encyclopedia
The Gorgas-Manly Historic District is a historic district
that includes 12 acres (4.9 ha) and eight buildings on the campus of the University of Alabama
in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
. The buildings represent the university campus as it existed from the establishment of the institution through to the late 19th century. Two buildings included in the district, Gorgas House and the Little Round House, are among only seven structures to have survived the burning of the campus by the Union Army
, under the command of Brigadier General
John T. Croxton
, on April 4, 1865. The other survivors were the President's Mansion
and the Old Observatory, plus a few faculty residences.
Woods Hall was the first building constructed following the American Civil War
. The remaining five buildings, Clark, Manly, Garland, Tuomey and Barnard Halls, represent campus construction during the economic recovery that followed the end of the Reconstruction era.
The construction of Manly, Clark, Garland, and other buildings was financed by the sale of a large portion of 46800 acres (189.4 km²) of land given by the United States Congress
to the University as repayment "for the fiery ruin brought by Federal troops in 1865."
style in Alabama, the Gorgas House was the first building built on the campus of the university. Designed by William Nichols
, designer of the original campus and Tuscaloosa's Old Alabama State Capitol, it was completed in 1829, prior to the opening of the campus. The main facade, minus the portico
, reflects the continuing influence of the Federal style
. Initially used as a guest house for visitors and professors and as a dining hall for students, it was converted to use as a faculty residence in the late 1840s. The house gained its current name from Josiah Gorgas
, the seventh University of Alabama president. Ill health forced him to resign as president and the trustees gave him the house to retire to. The Alabama legislature designated the house as a memorial to the Gorgas family in 1944 and today it is including among the University of Alabama Museums.
It was completed in 1860 and reflected the conversion of the university into a military campus. The conversion occurred on February 23, 1860, by an act of the Alabama legislature. As tensions between North and South escalated, the request for the transition came from the university president of the time, Landon Garland
. Ironically, the Little Round House, despite its military associations, was one of the few structures that remained after Federal troops burned the campus. When the university reopened its doors in 1871 the building was used as a physician's office. A few years later, while in a deteriorated condition, the building was considered for demolition. It was saved by the university trustees and converted into a records repository. It became known as Jasons Shrine during the 1930s, while being used by the Jasons, a men’s honor society. 1990 saw the structure converted into a memorial for all of the honor societies.
arcade on the ground floor, end facades in the Gothic Revival style with a crenelated roof, and cast iron
galleries on the central upper floors. Initially known simply as "the barracks," it was used as a dormitory
. It also had a dining hall and classrooms on the ground floor. It remained a dormitory until 1961, when it was converted for use by the Department of Art and Art History.
The area between Woods Hall on the one side and Woods, Clark, and Manly on the other side is known as Woods Quad.
Clark Hall contains the main office space for the College of Arts and Sciences, as well as a dance studio (currently overseen by Cornelius Carter
).
. It was named in honor of Basil Manly
, the second university president.
. It is the "counterpart" of Manly Hall, and today houses the Sarah Moody Gallery of Art.
for the Department of Chemistry, it was named in honor of Michael Tuomey, state geologist and professor. Toumey hall was previously the home of Army ROTC at the University of Alabama.
, it now houses offices and classrooms for the College of Arts and Sciences. It was named for scientist and professor, Frederick A. P. Barnard. It was rededicated as Oliver-Barnard Hall in 2000 in honor of John T. Oliver Jr., trustee emeritus. Barnard Hall was previously the home of Air Force ROTC at the University of Alabama.
Historic district (United States)
In the United States, a historic district is a group of buildings, properties, or sites that have been designated by one of several entities on different levels as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided...
that includes 12 acres (4.9 ha) and eight buildings on the campus of the University of Alabama
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Tuscaloosa is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west central Alabama . Located on the Black Warrior River, it is the fifth-largest city in Alabama, with a population of 90,468 in 2010...
. The buildings represent the university campus as it existed from the establishment of the institution through to the late 19th century. Two buildings included in the district, Gorgas House and the Little Round House, are among only seven structures to have survived the burning of the campus by the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
, under the command of Brigadier General
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
John T. Croxton
John T. Croxton
John Thomas Croxton was an attorney, a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War, and a postbellum U.S. diplomat.-Early life and career:...
, on April 4, 1865. The other survivors were the President's Mansion
President's Mansion (University of Alabama)
The President's Mansion is a historic Greek Revival style mansion on the campus of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. It has served as the official residence of university presidents ever since its completion in 1841. The structure narrowly avoided destruction during the American...
and the Old Observatory, plus a few faculty residences.
Woods Hall was the first building constructed following the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. The remaining five buildings, Clark, Manly, Garland, Tuomey and Barnard Halls, represent campus construction during the economic recovery that followed the end of the Reconstruction era.
The construction of Manly, Clark, Garland, and other buildings was financed by the sale of a large portion of 46800 acres (189.4 km²) of land given by the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
to the University as repayment "for the fiery ruin brought by Federal troops in 1865."
Gorgas House
An early example of the Greek RevivalGreek Revival architecture
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. A product of Hellenism, it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture...
style in Alabama, the Gorgas House was the first building built on the campus of the university. Designed by William Nichols
William Nichols (architect)
William Nichols, Sr. was an English-born architect who emigrated to the United States and became most famous for his early Neoclassical-style buildings in the American South...
, designer of the original campus and Tuscaloosa's Old Alabama State Capitol, it was completed in 1829, prior to the opening of the campus. The main facade, minus the portico
Portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...
, reflects the continuing influence of the Federal style
Federal architecture
Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the United States between c. 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815. This style shares its name with its era, the Federal Period. The name Federal style is also used in association with furniture design...
. Initially used as a guest house for visitors and professors and as a dining hall for students, it was converted to use as a faculty residence in the late 1840s. The house gained its current name from Josiah Gorgas
Josiah Gorgas
Josiah Gorgas was one of the few Northern-born Confederate generals and was later president of the University of Alabama....
, the seventh University of Alabama president. Ill health forced him to resign as president and the trustees gave him the house to retire to. The Alabama legislature designated the house as a memorial to the Gorgas family in 1944 and today it is including among the University of Alabama Museums.
Little Round House
This small octagonal building with crenelations originally served as the guard house of the university.It was completed in 1860 and reflected the conversion of the university into a military campus. The conversion occurred on February 23, 1860, by an act of the Alabama legislature. As tensions between North and South escalated, the request for the transition came from the university president of the time, Landon Garland
Landon Garland
-Biography:He graduated with first honors from Hampden-Sydney College in 1829. He taught chemistry and natural philosophy at Washington College , c1829-1830, and taught chemistry and natural history at Randolph-Macon College, 1833-1834, eventually being elected chair of the department. In 1837, he...
. Ironically, the Little Round House, despite its military associations, was one of the few structures that remained after Federal troops burned the campus. When the university reopened its doors in 1871 the building was used as a physician's office. A few years later, while in a deteriorated condition, the building was considered for demolition. It was saved by the university trustees and converted into a records repository. It became known as Jasons Shrine during the 1930s, while being used by the Jasons, a men’s honor society. 1990 saw the structure converted into a memorial for all of the honor societies.
Woods Hall
Woods Hall was the first new building on campus following the Civil War. Constructed from 1867 to 1868, the four-story brick structure was built with a Gothic RevivalGothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
arcade on the ground floor, end facades in the Gothic Revival style with a crenelated roof, and cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
galleries on the central upper floors. Initially known simply as "the barracks," it was used as a dormitory
Dormitory
A dormitory, often shortened to dorm, in the United States is a residence hall consisting of sleeping quarters or entire buildings primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people, often boarding school, college or university students...
. It also had a dining hall and classrooms on the ground floor. It remained a dormitory until 1961, when it was converted for use by the Department of Art and Art History.
The area between Woods Hall on the one side and Woods, Clark, and Manly on the other side is known as Woods Quad.
Clark Hall
Built in 1884, the Gothic Revival-style Clark Hall was constructed on the site of the old Lyceum, destroyed during the Civil War. Clark was originally designed as an all-purpose building with a library, reading rooms, chapel, and a large public meeting room, which served as "the great public hall of the University." By 1910 the building was beginning to deteriorate and the brick walls were near collapse by the late 1940s, due to the heavy roof. The hall was saved by the erection of an interior steel frame within the building, preserving it for future generations. The building was restored again in the 1980s. It was named for Willis G. Clark, a university trustee.Clark Hall contains the main office space for the College of Arts and Sciences, as well as a dance studio (currently overseen by Cornelius Carter
Cornelius Carter
Cornelius Carter is a dancer, choreographer, and professor of dance. The director of dance at the University of Alabama, besides the artistic director of Transition into Performance and of the Alabama Repertory Dance Theatre.-Biography:Carter won a scholarship to The Conservatory of Theatre Arts...
).
Manly Hall
Manly Hall is a -story Gothic Revival structure in red brick. Similar in design to Clark Hall, it was finished in 1885. Originally built as a dormitory, it now houses the Department of Religious Studies, the Department of Women's Studies, offices of the English department, and the office of the literary magazine Black Warrior ReviewBlack Warrior Review
The Black Warrior Review is an American literary magazine founded in 1974 and based at the University of Alabama. Work appearing in BWR has been anthologized in the Pushcart Prize collection, The Best American Short Stories , Best American Poetry, New Stories from the South. The Spring 1978 issue...
. It was named in honor of Basil Manly
Basil Manly
Basil Manly, Jr. was a southern United States Baptist minister and educator. He was one of a group of theologians instrumental in the formation of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in South Carolina.- Early life and education :...
, the second university president.
Garland Hall
The three-story Garland Hall is another Gothic Revival–style building on campus, built in 1887 to house a dormitory and the first incarnation of the Alabama Museum of Natural HistoryAlabama Museum of Natural History
The Alabama Museum of Natural History is the state's natural history museum, located in Smith Hall at the University of Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa. The oldest museum in the state, it was founded in 1831. The exhibits depict the natural diversity of Alabama from the Age of Dinosaurs, the Coal Age,...
. It is the "counterpart" of Manly Hall, and today houses the Sarah Moody Gallery of Art.
Tuomey Hall
The -story Tuomey Hall, now known as the Blount Undergraduate Initiative Tuomey Academic House, was completed in 1889. Built as a laboratoryLaboratory
A laboratory is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. The title of laboratory is also used for certain other facilities where the processes or equipment used are similar to those in scientific laboratories...
for the Department of Chemistry, it was named in honor of Michael Tuomey, state geologist and professor. Toumey hall was previously the home of Army ROTC at the University of Alabama.
Barnard Hall
The -story Barnard Hall, now known as Oliver-Barnard Hall, was completed in 1889. Built as a laboratory and gymnasiumGym
The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
, it now houses offices and classrooms for the College of Arts and Sciences. It was named for scientist and professor, Frederick A. P. Barnard. It was rededicated as Oliver-Barnard Hall in 2000 in honor of John T. Oliver Jr., trustee emeritus. Barnard Hall was previously the home of Air Force ROTC at the University of Alabama.
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama