Mayo’s Original Dormitories

The oldest of three dormitories was constructed in 1899 at the southeast corner of the intersection of Lee and Campbell Streets. It is likely it housed both male and female students until the construction in 1904 of a dormitory for women, South Dormitory, named for its location from first dormitory. Constructed in 1906, the third Mayo dormitory, North Dormitory, was a men’s residence hall. It was located north, across Lee Street, from first dormitory. The devastating 1911 fire began in a flue in South Dormitory, before spreading north. Most of the male students living in the first dormitory and North Dormitory were able to salvage their belongings before the fire fully spread to their dormitories. The female students residing in South Dormitory were not so lucky. By the time the fire was discovered, the building was fully engulfed in flames.