Whether you reside in Davidson or are just visiting our beautiful town, most people know or correctly assume the Town’s name is tied to the school – Davidson College, which was founded in 1837. The Town was also originally known as “Davidson College, NC” including when officially incorporated in NC in 1879.
But what most do not realize amongst the beautiful campus centered in the historic downtown Davidson area is that the college’s original campus (and thus the original heart of the Town of Davidson) – known as the “Quadrangle”, lies in plain view as you pass down Main Street or walk the grounds between larger, newer and more recognizable campus structures like the rising columns of Cunningham Theatre, imposing Chambers Building or the tall steeple of Davidson College Presbyterian Church’s chapel.
Whether you reside in Davidson or are just visiting our beautiful town, most people know or correctly assume the Town’s name is tied to the school – Davidson College, which was founded in 1837. The Town was also originally known as “Davidson College, NC” including when officially incorporated in NC in 1879.
The “Quad” is claimed to originally be loosely patterned after the design by Thomas Jefferson for UVA’s architecturally famous “Lawn.” It featured quadrants with a West and East row of eight total dormitories, offset by two central student halls and several other book-ending structures including the President’s house (residence), as well as the original old chapel – and Steward’s Hall (dining/classroom) and Tammany Hall (professor’s house), both of which no longer exist. From historic and present day Main Street and 3D aerial views (see attached), you can see the original “quad” area adjacent to Main Street and fronting what later became the focal point of the academic campus – the College’s main lawn and Chambers Building, originally constructed in the 1850’s and reconstructed after a 1921 fire.
Of those original antebellum (pre-Civil War) historic structures, five (5) remain standing and preserved today: besides the President’s house to the North, two dormitories part of what was known as “Oak Row” and “Elm Row”, which were built shortly before Davidson College officially opened in March 1837, and two student life/government buildings known as “Eumenean Hall” and “Philanthropic Hall” originally built in 1849 and 1850 respectively, named after student debating societies on campus.
All four of these structures are designated historic landmarks by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission (CMHLC) and National Historic Register not only for their historic value, but also their preservation of architectural history of the era – particularly the Hall buildings. Today the buildings are used for faculty and student office/classroom space, with the original 2nd floors of Eumenean and Philanthropic Halls being preserved and both buildings are still used by the College’s Eumenean and Philanthropic Societies.
Misc. Interesting Facts:
1. According to the CMHLC, during 1956 renovations to Eumenean Hall, workers discovered a bottle with an original documented dated June 11, 1849 listing the original 25 members of the society, other details including the names of the craftsman who built it, that it cost $2,500 to build the hall, and concluded with the message, “May peace prosperity & liberty always pervade the land of America. May the day always be when the citizen (sic) of America will feel proud to say I am an American.”
2. Woodrow Wilson, the 25th President of the United States, attended Davidson College beginning in 1873 and was a member of the Eumenean Society frequenting its hall. The CMHLC claims the dais furniture he used is still in the hall and also noted that a chandelier featured in Philanthropic Hall has a similarly notable history, having been made in France in the mid-1800’s “as a duplicate of the one under which Napoleon III was married to Eugenie de Montigi in 1853”, later exhibited in London and New York before being acquired for Phi Hall.
More information (including detailed architectural and historical notes) regarding these historic landmarks for Davidson College and Town of Davidson can be found at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission website: http://landmarkscommission.org/historic-properties-2/designated-historic-landmarks/