University of Richmond - Web Yearbook (Richmond, VA)

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Starting with Old Columbia, the Haxall Mansion, in 1854, Richmond College expanded rapidly. By the 1850's work was begun on the old main building, but construction was interrupted by war. After the War, the College returned to find its buildings devastatedg soon, however, work was resumed on the main building, named Ryland Hall in honor of Robert Ryland, who retired as president in 1866. This building grew like Topsy, with three different styles of Victorian gothic architecture over thirty years of work. It was severely damaged by fire on Christmas night, 1910. Ryland Hall on the Old Campus Old Cglumbia Deland Cottage 5 5 g, . .W North Court at Westhampton u.!'Cf5VX-J Partly as a result of this fire and partly because Richmond was growing up around it, Richmond College in 1912 resolved to move to the West End from the old location at what was then the end of Grace Street, where it now intersects with Lombardy. On moving to the planned campus, the College divided into Richmond College and Westharnpton, all under the name of Greater Richmond College, which was soon replaced by the title University of Richmond .

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The Librar - Heart of the University Spirit Boatwright Memorial Library with its study booths, central circulation desk, and steel stacks has come a long way from the first days of Virginia Baptist Seminary in 1830. When Robert Ryland opened the doors of that first institution in 1832, there were not more than several hundred books at the students' disposal in his private collection. By 1840 the Seminary had become attractive to students interested in fields other than religion, so on March 4 of that year Richmond College was chartered as a liberal arts institution. Even after the charter of 1840 there was no library to speak of, so the students took matters into their own hands. The Columbian Society was begun in Septem- ber, 1841, and from the very first began to collect books to supplement the few offered by the College. From then until 1855 six different societies were started at the College, all with the purpose of promoting literary and debating activities, all collecting books. Of these only two survived: Mu Sigma Rho fbegun by a merger of Columbian and Washingtonj, and Phi- lologian, the newest, chartered October 12, 1855. The societies' libraries were so impor- tant to the College that they were annually listed in the catalogue, and they usually represented about a third of the total collection. A look at the reading habits of these students reveals some interesting facts. The catalogue of the Philologian library as of December 1, 1860 shows Napoleon out in front as the favorite reading topic. Five out of the 164 volumes of history and biography relate directly to his rule. George Washington ranked a close second. The societies jointly sold the libraries to the College in 1883 due to the Hnancial burden of the collection and to the fact that the College now had close to ten thousand volumes. The libraries of the societies had fared far better than those of the College during the War Between the States. Wheii the College closed and the societies were suspended in April, 1861, provisions had been made to take care of them independ- ently. The College library, unlike those of the societies, was carried off by a Union officer for safe keeping after the fall of Richmond. Needless to say, this honor- able Yankee gentleman never returned the books, only a few ever found their way back to the shelves. In fact there were less than a thousand at war's end in the shat- tered buildings of the College, which were used as a barracks for Negro troops. After the war as before, the library, at one time less than a thousand volumes, was stored in a small room barely large enough to hold them, the society libraries were iiduch, more spacious. It was not until the session of 1882-83, which saw the opening of Jeter Memorial Hall, that there was adequate space for the library, now enlarged by the addition of the society collections. The library hall that was opened then was a marvel of its day, busts of Franklin and Washington in bronze graced the aisles, and right in the middle of it all was a mummy. This was a handsome room, the pride of Richmond-but at first it was opened for only a few hours per day. Expansion in that era was the by-word, a museum was started, the first student publication saw the light of day, and fraternities invaded the former staid atmosphere. The College was going through a period of expansion until 1914, when the former West End location was too cramped and too downtown to con- tinue, the College moved to its present location. A magnificent new room now cut up into cubicles for the Center for Psycho- logical Service, was opened in a building named Charles Ryland Hall in honor of the first librarian, who also was the found- er of the Philologian Society. That entire room as well as the first floor was taken up with books, and soon the library had to overfiow into an adjoin- ing building, named Robert Ryland Hall for the first president. The College had now become the Uni- versity, and the library had now become a university library. The literary societies were again called upon to sacrifice for Llfmlyxf