University of Mary Washington Then & Now

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Posts in the Willard category

Willard Dorm Room

Willard, the first dorm built on campus, was named after temperance leader Frances Willard.1  This dorm was home to many campus residence firsts including first coed dorm in the fall of 1973. 2   Willard was also the first dorm to have air-conditioning when it was installed during renovations in 1980.3   Students commented on the thickness of the walls and their ability to hinder sound, and thus Willard was long considered a wilder, party dorm.4 Adding to the legacy of Willard, President Combs and his family lived in the dorm for a short while in 1928 while looking for a residence in the area. 5

 

Willard Dorm Room, 2014

Willard Dorm Room 2014
Alexandria Parrish, "Willard Dorm Room," March 26, 2014, Personal Collection of Alexandria Parrish, University of Mary Washington.

Show 5 footnotes

  1. William B. Crawley Jr., University of Mary Washington: A Centennial History, 1908-2008 (Fredericksburg: University of Mary Washington Foundation, 2008), 7. ↩
  2. Ibid., 93. ↩
  3. Ibid., 797. ↩
  4. Ibid., 375 ↩
  5. Ibid., 29. ↩

Willard

Willard Hall was the school’s first residence hall and one of the first two buildings erected on campus. Originally called “The Dormitory,” it was named in honor of Frances Willard, a leader in the temperance movement. Constructed in 1911, Willard is known for its large rooms. 1 Willard was the first coed dorm on campus, when seven male students were moved in during the 1973-1974 term.2 With an important renovation in 1980, Willard was also the first dorm to have air conditioning. The residence hall was given a more modern look over the course of the renovations, along with important structural updates.3 The dormitory underwent renovations again in 2006, to maintain the building after almost one hundred years of use.4 It continues to be a coed dorm today, primarily housing upperclassmen.

Willard Then Resized 2

Willard Hall, n.d.
"Willard Hall," n.d., UMW Archives, University of Mary Washington.

Willard Now Resized 2

Willard, 2014
Alexandria Parrish, “Willard,” February 19 2014, Personal Collection of Alexandria Parrish. University of Mary Washington.

Show 4 footnotes

  1. William B. Crawley Jr., University of Mary Washington: A Centennial History, 1908-2008 (Fredericksburg: University of Mary Washington Foundation, 2008), 6-9, ↩
  2. Ibid., 93. ↩
  3. Ibid., 216-17. ↩
  4. Ibid., 797. ↩
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