North Hall, University of Wisconsin
About this property
North Hall was the University of Wisconsin–Madison's first building. Built in 1851 in the woods and brush that would become Bascom Hill, this one building was the UW for its first four years, housing both dorm rooms and lecture halls. John Muir resided in North Hall when he was a student at the university from 1860 to 1863. In 1965 North Hall was listed as a National Historic Landmark. It currently houses the offices of the political science faculty at the university. The city of Madison was established as the capital of Wisconsin Territory in 1836. By 1838, the wooded hill west of the capitol was optimistically being called "College Hill," though there was no college. In 1848 the University of Wisconsin was established by the state legislature - the same year Wisconsin became a state. But there was not a single building yet. In February 1849, under the mantle of the new university, Dr. John Sterling commenced a preparatory school for twenty boys downtown in a room of the Madison Female Academy. Meanwhile, Chancellor Lathrop, Regents Mills and Dean, and Milwaukee architect John F. Rague drew up a general plan for university buildings. A "main edifice" would stand at the top of College Hill. Down the hill from it would be four dormitories, "each building to be four stories high, 110 feet in length and forty feet in breadth, containing thirty-two studies for the use of students, each study having two bed-rooms and a wood room attached." Rather than construct the main edifice (classrooms and offices) first, the university built the dormitory North Hall in 1851. Rague designed it in Greek Revival style, similar to the dormitories at the University of Michigan, and clad in sandstone, very much as described above. North Hall was built in 1851, with construction overseen by James Livesey. Its first three floors were dormitory organized into suites where each suite had a study room and two bedrooms. The fourth floor housed lecture rooms, study rooms, and a chapel. The first year there were 30 students, three faculty, and a janitor. Faculty were Chancellor Lathrop, Professor Sterling, and O.M. Conover. The janitor lived in the hall with the students and on cold days in winter the students called for the janitor to stoke the furnace. "Wood up John! Wood up!" At first the building was heated by two hot-air furnaces. Students hauled their own water from a nearby well. Toilets were outside - simple privies. The first class began at 6am and the last ended at 9pm, with a curfew at nine. This one building held all functions of the university for the first four years. Then in 1855 South Hall was completed across the mall - also designed by John Rague and very similar to North Hall on the outside.
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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Questions about this property
When was North Hall, University of Wisconsin listed on the National Register?
North Hall, University of Wisconsin was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 14, 1966.
What type of historic resource is North Hall, University of Wisconsin?
North Hall, University of Wisconsin is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
Is North Hall, University of Wisconsin a National Historic Landmark?
Yes. North Hall, University of Wisconsin has been designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL), the highest level of federal recognition for historic properties in the United States.
What is the period of significance for North Hall, University of Wisconsin?
The period of significance for North Hall, University of Wisconsin is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near North Hall, University of Wisconsin?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near North Hall, University of Wisconsin will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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