Historic Shepherd University
"Miller Hall"
Representative Gallery
About Historic Shepherd University
In July, 1871, the Jefferson County seat was moved from Shepherdstown to Charles Town, freeing the old courthouse/town hall for use as an educational institution. This imposing Greek Revival structure had been erected in 1859 by Rezin Davis Shepherd, who intended it to be a town hall. According to Historic Shepherdstown, the "clock in the tower, donated to the town by Shepherd in 1842 and originally housed in the old Episcopal Church, was moved to the town hall tower in 1860. Though neglected during some periods, the clock has been maintained in recent decades and still strikes the hour." In 1872 the building became the first building of what is today Shepherd University. According to the article of incorporation signed by a handful of Shepherdstown's city fathers including Henry Shepherd, Shepherd College was to provide instruction “in languages, arts and sciences.” The first 42 students enrolled in September, 1871, under the administration of first principal Professor Joseph McMurran, for whom the building was eventually named. In 1872 the West Virginia Legislature passed an act stating “That a branch of the State Normal School be and the same is hereby established at the building known as Shepherd College, in Shepherdstown, in the county of Jefferson.”
Shepherd began granting the bachelor of arts degree in 1930, when it became a four-year college for the training of teachers, and in 1943 and 1950 respectively, was authorized to implement liberal arts programs and the bachelor of science program. Shepherd now offers baccalaureate degrees in a wide range of fields, encompassing the liberal arts, business administration, teacher education, the social and natural sciences, and other career-oriented areas. In 2014 Shepherd's undergraduate enrollment was just under 3,900, and its graduate enrollment was 286. The Campus, which consists of East Campus and West Campus, includes several historic buildings and sites, and has grown by leaps and bounds over the past two decades, now including 43 major buildings, among them the $9 million Robert C. Byrd Science and Technology Center, the $18 million addition to the Scarborough Library, which also houses the Robert C. Byrd Center for Legislative Studies, the $10 million Erma Ora Byrd nursing classroom building, and my favorite, the "Little House" pictured below, built in the late 1920's as a project to encourage children to attend summer school.
Shepherd University's dynamic presence and unique blend of the old and the new are part of what makes the Town a great place to live and learn.
sources: Historic Shepherdstown and the Shepherd University Website.
Shepherd began granting the bachelor of arts degree in 1930, when it became a four-year college for the training of teachers, and in 1943 and 1950 respectively, was authorized to implement liberal arts programs and the bachelor of science program. Shepherd now offers baccalaureate degrees in a wide range of fields, encompassing the liberal arts, business administration, teacher education, the social and natural sciences, and other career-oriented areas. In 2014 Shepherd's undergraduate enrollment was just under 3,900, and its graduate enrollment was 286. The Campus, which consists of East Campus and West Campus, includes several historic buildings and sites, and has grown by leaps and bounds over the past two decades, now including 43 major buildings, among them the $9 million Robert C. Byrd Science and Technology Center, the $18 million addition to the Scarborough Library, which also houses the Robert C. Byrd Center for Legislative Studies, the $10 million Erma Ora Byrd nursing classroom building, and my favorite, the "Little House" pictured below, built in the late 1920's as a project to encourage children to attend summer school.
Shepherd University's dynamic presence and unique blend of the old and the new are part of what makes the Town a great place to live and learn.
sources: Historic Shepherdstown and the Shepherd University Website.
About Historic Miller Hall
From the website of Shepherd University (see citation below):
"Constructed between 1915 and 1916 in Classical Revival style, Miller Hall was the first dormitory at Shepherd University and the first building to be built on the west side of campus. Prior to dormitories on Campus, students either lived at home or boarded in private homes. As enrollment increased at Shepherd University in the very early twentieth-century the need for a dormitory, particularly a dormitory for women, became a necessity. So when Miller Hall was built, it was to serve as the women's dormitory. When first built, Miller Hall had a full kitchen, a dining room, laundry facilities, a large reception room, library, and bedrooms. For the better part of the 1970s, Miller Hall was used as a residence hall as well as the home of the Nursing program. Then in 1980, Miller Hall was renovated to serve solely as a residence hall. Today, Miller Hall is a suite style residence hall with a full kitchen and laundry facilities. It also houses the Residence Life office and the Picket, Shepherd University's newspaper, on the ground floor. Miller Hall was named in honor of Thomas Miller, president of Shepherd University from 1909 to 1920. source: https://www.shepherdu.com/lib/shwebsite/historic_tour/millerhall_campus.html |
An Easter Week Windstorm Topples Part Of A Stately Old Sugar Maple
During Easter week, 2020, with the streets of Shepherdstown - and the Shepherd Campus - eerily quiet as the world dealt with a global pandemic that required "social distancing and staying at home, a windstorm with gusts up to 50 mph split the Sugar Maple that had for well over a century graced the lawn of Miller Hall. Shown below is the damage, from the same angle as the 1920's photograph showing the tree as an established, healthy tree with a bed of flowers at its base. The tree was cabled against just such an occurrence, but that measure was no deterrent to the winds that blew on Good Friday, 2020.