The Council of Independent Colleges: Historic Campus Architecture Project

Conant Hall

Click on image titles for larger views.

Roger Conant Hall (three-quarter view, ca. 1890), Nichols College

Roger Conant Hall (front facade, ca. 2003), Nichols College

Institution Name: Nichols College
Original/Historic Place Name: Roger Conant Hall, Nichols Academy
Location on Campus: Center Rd.
Date(s) of Construction:

1885	original construction Elbridge Boyden & Son

Designer: Elbridge Boyden & Son (Worcester, MA)
Type of Place: Individual building
Style: Victorian, Other (Glossary)
Significance: architecture, education, history
Narrative: see below
References: see below

Materials:

Foundation: granite

Walls: brick

Roof: composition material (formerly slate)

Function:

ca. 1885	residence hall (boarding home for Nichols Academy students; Inn)
ca. 2004-present (2006)	faculty offices
n.d.	residence hall (for Nichols College students)

Narrative:
Conant Hall was constructed in 1885 as the boarding house for Nichols Academy. The building was financed by Hezekiah Conant, who also paid for three other structures on the Nichols College campus; and it was designed by Elbridge Boyden, a well-known and popular central Massachusetts architect who erected nearly one hundred buildings.

This structure is one of the area's "largest historic buildings" according to the Massachusetts Historical Commission and can be compared with the close-by Conant Memorial Church as one of the most ornate buildings in the area. Its architecture features a Victorian Eclectic style, with Stick style ornaments and Queen Anne sashes and granite sills. It was originally named for Roger Conant, the first Conant family member to come to the Massachusetts Bay community in 1624. According to the Conant family, he then became the first governor of Massachusetts, although this claim does not have popular or historical support.

References: