2/17/12

Names of buildings represent important donors and people in an institution’s history, and the names of William Jewell College’s residence halls are no different. Though students may live in any one of the College’s six residence halls, many people are ignorant of the namesakes’ contributions to William Jewell or the buildings’ significance to the College’s history. When the sources of these names are forgotten, then part of the College’s history will be lost.
“The College archives maintains information on the rich history of our campus and buildings. If anyone is interested in researching the history of the College, I am always happy to assist,” Rebecca Hamlett ’10, William Jewell instruction and archives librarian, said.
Ely Hall is the oldest residence hall currently on campus, as it was built in 1911. At that time, it housed not only students, but also the College dining hall. The Oct. 8, 1915 dining hall inventory shows food on hand that cost $3,244.48, at a time when 20 pounds of coffee only cost the College 18 cents.
However, until 1958, the building was known as “New” Ely. The first Ely Hall was built in 1880 about 60 feet north of Jewell Hall, in the middle of what is currently the Quad, at a cost of about $11,500. From 1877 until his death in 1897, Lewis B. Ely, a former Trustee, served as financial agent of the College. He came to Carrollton, Mo., in 1838, moving with his family from Frankfort, Ky. While in Carrollton, he was a successful merchant for nearly four decades before accepting the post as financial agent.
During his tenure, Ely focused on increasing the College’s endowment and limiting the debt incurred by paying faculty salaries. At Ely’s June 23, 1897 funeral services in Carrollton, Dr. John Priest Greene, president of the College, said “The greatest Missourian among us is going to be buried today.”
The second-oldest residential building is Melrose Hall, which was completed in 1926. Though the building was not named for the donor, as the benefactor wished to remain anonymous (although a postcard produced many years later identified the donor as C.M. Treach), this building represents the College’s first major residence hall for female students and augmented a “home-like building” that housed only 15 students. Since non-local female students were required to live on campus, the new structure would provide much-needed space.
In 1926, the College enrolled 520 students, and 139 of them were degree-seeking women. Between the two dormitories for women, the College could house up to 100 female students. The 1926-27 College Catalog states, “the total necessary year’s expense (including tuition and fees) for a woman rooming and boarding in this dormitory should not exceed $450.00.” The 1932 Melrose Hall regulations book allowed female students to attend a maximum of six social events per term, and even for those six weeks, a faculty-member chaperone and parental consent were required. However, this does not mean that the students of Melrose Hall did not create their own fun.
 The late Dr. Georgia B. Bowman ’34, professor emerita of communication and former debate team coach, said in a 2006 interview that “[Melrose residents] found that it was convenient for it to rain in the morning, just as he [Dr. Hester, a professor and husband of the resident director, Carolyne Hester] left the first floor out the back door, to go on over to the campus. And it always rained when he was going out that door. There were a lot of good people upstairs that could drop the water.”
Jones Hall was completed in 1954, and it was intended to be one of a new-wave of smaller residence halls that would house fewer students. A June 23, 1953 article from the Kansas City Star quoted Catherine Bates, dean of women, as saying, “For several years the idea was to build large dormitories on college and university campuses, but these have proved to be unsatisfactory, unhomelike and too hotel-like. The new trend is to house girls in smaller units.”
Completed at a cost of about $121,000 with a capacity of 40 students, the building was named for Minetry L. Jones ’14, who served as a College Trustee from 1932-38, financial secretary 1938-43, assistant to the president from 1943-47, vice-president from 1947-62, as well as the July 1962 interim president. He died in 1963.
Semple Hall was completed in 1957 and was named for Robert Baylor Semple, professor of Latin and German, who served the College from 1868-1909. His son, Dr. William T. Semple, was a Trustee at the time. The building was built by the Thomas Construction Company of St. Joseph, Mo., and cost approximately $436,000. Funding came from $845,000 the College received from the Housing and Home Financing Agency of the U.S. government, which was also used to build the Yates Union, which is today known as the Yates-Gill Union.
In 1958, Eaton Hall was constructed at a cost of about $461,000. Like Semple Hall, Eaton was named for a former professor of William Jewell. Dr. James R. Eaton was a professor of natural sciences from 1869 until his death in 1897. In 1876, the College conferred upon him an honorary doctorate. His son, Dr. Hubert Eaton, was a Trustee of the College and head of the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, Ca.
Browning Hall was constructed as a men’s residence hall in 1968. The building was named for William P. Browning ’06, a College Trustee from 1929-1978, which made him the longest-serving Trustee at the time. While a student at the College, he was a feature writer for The Student (the former title of the Monitor), a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity, a football player and a founding member of Aeons, which was the senior men’s honorary society. A well-to-do owner of W.P. Browning & Son, a livestock exchange in Kansas City, he gave generously to the 1965 library building, which became known as the Charles F. Curry Library in 1971.
The theater on the library’s ground level is named for him due to his contributions. His largest gift to the College was his 341-acre farm just north of the main campus, known as “Browning Campus,” which was intended to be used for campus expansion. This tract of 341 acres represented 75 percent of the campus lands. In 1966, the College leased a 150-acre tract to a group of investors to develop an 18-hole golf course that became known as Claycrest. Today, the golf course is known as Cardinal Hill.