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Steward's Hall

Steward's Hall

Constructed for the care and boarding of students, this wooden structure was located just north of present-day Carr Building where Cameron Avenue now runs, facing west. Completed in 1795, it was the second building completed on campus. For many years the trustees fixed the price of board and hired a steward to run the operation. There are multiple accounts of student complaints about bad food and poor care throughout the early 1800s, such as the charge of "invariable service of mutton and of bacon too fat to be eaten." The steward soon came to be in charge of the general care of buildings and grounds, eventually leading to an official position of superintendent. In 1847 the university razed the building and filled in the nearby well. University president David Swain used the wings of the building to construct houses for enslaved workers on his nearby property, and the structure was sold to become the village schoolhouse.


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