The Council of Independent Colleges: Historic Campus Architecture Project

Mary Mendenhall Hobbs Hall

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Mary Mendenhall Hobbs Hall, Guilford College

Institution Name: Guilford College
Original/Historic Place Name: New Garden Hall
Location on Campus:
Date(s) of Construction:

1907	original construction

Designer: unknown
Type of Place: Individual building
Style: Regionalist/Vernacular (Glossary)
Significance: culture, education, history
Narrative: see below
References: see below

Materials:

Foundation: brick

Walls: brick

Roof: asphalt shingle

Function:

ca. 1907-present (2006)

residence hall (women's)

Narrative:
Originally known as New Garden Hall, Mary Mendenhall Hobbs Hall was constructed to meet the housing needs of women students. It was specifically designed to serve as a cooperative dormitory and required students to assist with cooking and cleaning tasks. The cooperative dormitory model provided a supportive community for women students with reduced costs for room and board. Until the late 1990s the dormitory maintained a kitchen and dining room for residents.

The driving force behind the establishment of the dormitory was Mary Mendenhall Hobbs, Quaker leader, educator, and activist for women's education. She believed it was vital to provide methods of financial support for women students since families were not always willing to invest in a college education for their daughters. Hobbs was the wife of the first college president, Lewis Lyndon Hobbs, and a school classmate of Bryn Mawr president M. Carey Thomas.

References:

Appenzeller, Herb. Pride in the Past: Guilford Athletics, 1837-1987. Greensboro, NC: Quaker Club, Guilford College, 1987.

Godwin, Gayle H. et al. Girls Are of Infinite Importance: Life in Mary Hobbs Hall at Guilford College. Greensboro, NC: Fisher-Harrison, 1977.

Guilford College. National Register of Historic Places designation report. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior/National Park Service, 1990.

"Guilford College Proposal for Campus Heritage Initiative, The Getty Foundation." [Guilford, NC: Guilford College], 2003.

North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office. Guilford College Historic District (Boundary Decrease). National Register of Historic Places designation report. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior/National Park Service, 2001.

Stoesen, Alexander R. Guilford College on the Strength of 150 Years. Greensboro, NC: Board of Trustees, Guilford College, 1987.

Thorne, Dorothy Lloyd Gilbert. Guilford: A Quaker College. Greensboro, NC: J. J. Stone and Company, 1937.