- City:
- University, MS
- Site Type:
- Education and Health, Colleges and Universities
- New Deal Agencies:
- Public Works Funding, Work Relief Programs, Public Works Administration (PWA), Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA)
- Designer:
- R. W. Naef
- Contractor:
- W. J. McGee and Son
- Marked:
- Yes
Description
Leavell Hall, was initially built as a men’s dormitory housing 68 students. It is one of six dormitories constructed on campus with PWA funds during 1938. All six buildings remain and are in current use, or slated for renovation and resumption of use. Leavell was named for Dr. Richard Leavell, professor of philosophy and political economy from 1890-1909.
“…conditions in Mississippi were worse than at any time since the Civil War (quoted in Harry Hopkins, 1936, Spending to Save: The Complete Story of Relief). With a state government in bankruptcy, Mississippi welcomed the federal funds that finally began to trickle down in 1932” (Roger Tate, Jr., 1978, Easing the Burden: The Era of Depression and the New Deal in Mississippi).
Over the next five years, the University of Mississippi would see the trickle turn into a steady stream, using Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works funds to build a new football stadium, improve the baseball field and grandstand, enlarge the golf course, and build an Olympic-sized swimming pool. In addition to sports facilities, UM added six new dormitories, eight faculty apartments, twenty-two faculty houses, a fraternity house, Student Union Building, Kennon Observatory, and the Physics building.
Source notes
Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Historic Resources Inventory database.
Sansing, D. S. (1999). The University of Mississippi: A Sesquicentennial History. Jackson, MS: University Press.
Swain, M. H. (1995). Ellen S. Woodward: New Deal Advocate for Women. Jackson, MS: University Press.
Walton, G. W. (2008). The University of Mississippi: A Pictorial History. Nashville, TN: Booksmith Group.
Site originally submitted by Susan Allen on June 12, 2013.
At this Location:
- University of Mississippi: Physics Building - University MS
- University of Mississippi: Kennon Observatory - University MS
- University of Mississippi: Dormitories - University MS
- University of Mississippi: Barnard Hall - University MS
- University of Mississippi: Somerville Hall - University MS
- University of Mississippi: Weir Memorial Hall - University MS
- University of Mississippi: Faculty Housing - University MS
- University of Mississippi: Vaught-Hemingway Stadium - University MS
- University of Mississippi: Eastbridge Apartments (demolished) - University MS
- University of Mississippi: Sigma Alpha Epsilon House (demolished) - University MS
- University of Mississippi: Old Swimming Pool - University MS
- University of Mississippi: Athletic Facilities Improvement - University MS
View all sites at University of Mississippi - University MS (13 Sites)
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