| Summary: | Nashville architect Adolphus Heiman designed the Gothic Revival building and Zebulon Pike Morrison, a native of Virginia, who migrated to Lauderdale County constructed the building. Wesleyan Hall was reportedly his finest work. The three story masonry building was built in 1855 as the new home of Methodist church affiliated LaGrange College. When the school, under the leadership of Dr. R.H. Rivers, moved to Florence the name was changed to Wesleyan University. The college operated under the Methodist Conferences of Alabama, Tennessee, and Mississippi until the Civil War. Mass enlistment forced the school to close and the grounds were periodically used by troops. After the war the Methodists found they did not have enough funds to reopen. The building was offered to the state and the building became the State Normal School in 1872. The Alabama State Normal School was the first state supported teachers school in the south and a legislative Act in 1873 included the education of women, another first for the region. The building is now part of the University of North Alabama.
The 1974 NR nomination lists the significance of Wesleyan Hall in terms of architecture, as one of the few surviving Gothic Revival buildings in the area, and in terms of education for its role in the education of Alabama’s teachers. All information and pictures for this Omeka entry were found in the National Register nomination.
|
|---|
