Eye on Acadia
Residences through the years More than just accommodations, residences enable students to flourish right where they live By Laura Churchill Duke (’98)
O
ver the years, Acadia has had to come up with innovative strategies to accommodate increasing numbers of students. Today, there are 11 residences in use on campus, but the University’s living quarters had modest beginnings.
men and Tully (Whitman House) for women. Both residences still stand. After World War II, The federal government agreed to pay the educational costs of returning servicemen. The resulting influx of students necessitated further residence construction.
Horton Academy students (a classical high school founded on Acadia’s site in 1829) were housed in a one-storey, yellow farmhouse situated on presentday Main Street in front of what is now University Hall. According to Tom Sheppard’s (‘66) Historic Wolfville, the Academy Boarding House was built to accommodate 50 students, the principal, his family, and other administrators. When the first College (University) Hall was built in 1843, it had residence rooms on the upper floors. With no central heating, students had to use stoves to keep warm.
“New residence space was obviously urgently required,” writes Roger Prentice (’69) in his book, A Child of Providence, so War Memorial - affectionately called “Barrax” - was built. Buildings at Camp Aldershot were rented to house married students. The Evangeline Inn, located where the new Clock Park is being developed on Wolfville’s Main Street, was leased for three years to serve as a men’s residence. The inn was torn down in the 1960s and replaced by a service station.
In 1875, the first residence, Chipman Hall, opened on the site of present-day Chipman House. Seminary House followed in 1878 and a newer Academy Boarding House in 1887 (near the current War Memorial Gymnasium). Seminary House was built to support growing interest among the Baptist founders in women’s education.
Strong community
Commitment to remain a residential university Throughout student expansion, Acadia has retained its commitment to be a residential university. According to Barry Moody’s (’67) history of Acadia, Give us an A, up until 1902 College women shared accommodations with women in Seminary or had to board in town. Acadia College women wanted to be distinguished from Seminary women, so in 1902 the College women sent a petition to the Board requesting a separate residence. In 1909, the former president’s residence, Trotter House, became the first women’s college residence. Affectionately called the “Crow’s Nest”, it was located where Manning Memorial Chapel stands today. Major fires in 1914 and 1915 destroyed the Academy Boarding House and Chipman Hall, and necessitated replacements. In 1915, Willett House was built for 10
ACADIA BULLETIN Fall 2011
The Baby Boom generation of the 1960s and ‘70s again caused Acadia to study its educational and residence capacity. Quick fixes were needed while permanent residences were being built. Blomidon Inn was purchased as an auxiliary off-campus residence in 1960 and in 1962 “Blomidon House” became a men’s residence. Between 1965 and 1969 it was a women’s residence. Lynn (Pelton) Whyte (’68) and Sonja (Crowley) Fourdraine (’69) were residents of Blomidon House. Because of its distance from campus, a shuttle bus ferried the girls to and from classes, often with little time to spare. “It would honk its horn and leave in three minutes,” says Whyte. “The honk often woke me up and, in winter, I’d throw a coat on over my nightgown and go to my first class. I took my rollers out on the way!” The ride also gave students lots of time to catch up on everyone’s doings. “One day, en route, two of us found out one guy was trying to date us both!” says Whyte. Although female students often felt isolated living away from campus, they developed a strong community. “Sharing clothes; making Kraft dinner