Tingley Memorial Hall

Built in 1908, Tingley Memorial Hall is the administration building of Claflin University, which is a historically Black university established in 1869. Claflin provided an opportunity for young African Americans in the city and the state to attend a school of higher learning. Its graduates went on to serve in many professional fields, including teaching, which was an important goal of the university as the teachers trained at Claflin taught in African American schools throughout the state. As for Tingley Hall, it was designed by Pioneering African American architect William Wilson Cooke, who also designed most of the other buildings on campus. In 1907, Cooke became the first African American senior architectural designer at the United States Supervising Architect's Office in Washington D.C. Tingley hall continues to be the main building of the campus. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Claflin University, which is a private school, was founded in 1869 to help fill the need for an institution of higher learning for African Americans in the state. After the Civil War, public schools for African Americans were few and not very good. As a result, private African Americans schools were established around the state. It appears that Claflin also offered grammar and high school courses as well but eventually ended those sometime in the 1920s. Claflin was named after Methodist layman from Boston, Lee Claflin, and his son, William Claflin, who was governor of Massachusetts at the time of the university's founding.

Tingley Hall was built using donated funds from Providence, Rhode Island resident, S.H. Tingley. The building was named in honor Tingley's late wife, Adella, who supported African American causes. It was first used to house the English and Pedagogical Department and had 14 classrooms and an assembly hall. In 1913, it became the the main administration building of the campus after a fire destroyed the previous one.

The adjacent South Carolina State University was originally a part of Claflin as the South Carolina State Agricultural and Mechanical Institute. The Institute was established in 1872 but became South Carolina State in 1896.

Tingley Hall's architect, William Wilson Cooke, took a course Claflin between 1888 and 1891 and later served as superintendent of vocational training between 1897 and 1907. He also earned his Bachelor of Science degree at Claflin. During his twenty-two-year career at the United States Supervising Architect's Office, Cooke supervised projects in several states. He also opened private practices in Indiana and Illinois.

Edmunds, Mary Watson & Fullington, Martha Walker. "Tingley Memorial Hall, Claflin College." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. August 4, 1983. https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/4f0aa5e7-b890-4b83-9fcc-c754b7f688ba.

"History." Claflin University. Accessed May 31, 2021. https://www.claflin.edu/about/history.