Caruthers Hall

Caruthers Hall is primarily remembered as home to the campus elementary school at Maryland State Teachers College from 1955-1969. The school and building was named after Dr. Thomas Caruthers. Caruthers was the original math teacher at the college, as well as the first principal of the elementary school. Once the Campus Elementary School closed in 1969, Caruthers Hall served a variety of uses in its later years, including housing Salisbury University’s education school, as well as the local affiliate of National Public Radio, WSCL. It was demolished in 2013 to make way for the construction of the Guerrieri Academic Commons.

In 1953, the Maryland Board of Education allocated $692,500 to Maryland State Teachers College to construct a demonstration elementary school for teacher’s training at the college. The elementary school had previously been housed in the college’s main building (later named Holloway Hall), and plans had been discussed to remodel it. However, these plans were abandoned in favor of a new building all together. Ground broke for the new Campus School in August of 1953, with Governor Theodore McKeldin in attendance at the ceremony. 

Construction of the Campus School concluded in November 1954. The school opened to students in time for the 1955-1956 school year. A brick structure set to accommodate 200 students, the Campus School featured six classrooms with acoustic ceilings. Also included in the building were a work-conference room, cafeteria, gymnasium, library, auditorium, health suite, storage spaces, custodian room, principal’s office, and teacher suite. Outside of the building were an outdoor classroom and playground. After 11 years of operation in 1966, the Campus School was officially named the Caruthers Campus School after Dr. Thomas Caruthers, an early professor at the college as well as the first principal of the demonstration school.

Caruthers Campus School did not live on much longer after its naming. In 1968, Governor Spiro Agnew brought the status of campus schools in the state of Maryland into question over the amount spent on them in comparison to public schools. The school’s lack of integration was also cited as a reason to doubt its future, as 29% percent of students in the Wicomico County Public School district were African American and only 2 attended Caruthers Campus School. While many, including college president Dr. Wilbur Devilbiss, fought to keep the school running, the Caruthers Campus School closed in 1969. The building then became simply Caruthers Hall.

Caruthers Hall served in a variety of roles after the Campus School closed. As an academic hall, it became home to the Admissions Department, business, and financial offices in the 1970s, as well as a computer center in the 1980s. In 1979, the building underwent a renovation to make it less school-like to house the education department, which remained there until Conway Hall (originally the Teachers Education and Technology Center or TETC) opened in 2008. Caruthers Hall also housed several business school offices until Perdue Hall was completed in 2011. From 1987 until its demolition in 2013, Caruthers Hall served as the home of WSCL, a National Public Radio affiliate. The station moved to a complex on Power Street in 2013 after the building was razed to make way for the Guerrieri Academic Commons.

Bradley, Sylvia. Salisbury: From Normal School to University 1925 - 2001. Salisbury, Maryland. Salisbury University Press, 2002.

Dougan, Alexandra. "SU Remembers History of Caruthers Hall." The Flyer (Salisbury) October 29th 2013.

"College Building Plan Enters Its Fifth Year." The Holly Leaf (Salisbury) September 30th 1954.

Salisbury University. A Timeline of SU Buildings & Presidents, Salisbury University. Accessed March 16th 2021. https://www.salisbury.edu/discover-su/campus-history/whos-who.aspx.

"A Welcome to Alumni by Dr. J.D. Blackwell." The Holly Leaf (Salisbury) November 5th 1954.

"Work Underway for Demonstration School." The Holly Leaf (Salisbury) October 30, 1953.

"To Be Dedicated: Student Union Building." The Holly Leaf (Salisbury) November 23rd, 1966.

"Student Union Building Dedication." The Holly Leaf December 15th, 1966.