Choptank Hall

Plans for a new dormitory for Salisbury State College were announced by President Dr. W. Douglas Smith in 1968 after the completion of Nanticoke Hall. The new dormitory would be five stories and house 200 students. Scheduled to open in the fall of 1970, construction was not completed until the fall of 1972. This would be under the presidency of Dr. Norman Crawford. Close to $1.2 Million was spent on the new residence hall.

Totaling six stories rather than five, and housing 220 students, Choptank Hall became the largest residence hall on campus at the time. It departed from the Georgian architectural style of the other residence halls. The building was the first of the “high rise” dormitories, and was followed in style by Chester Hall in 1974 and Severn Hall in 1990. Each residential floor housed bedrooms sleeping forty students, a lounge, and bathrooms. The building also featured a main lounge on the first floor, an elevator, and air conditioning. 

Choptank Hall was also the first of the school’s coeducational dorms, and mainly housed upperclassmen. Each of the floors were broken into clusters. Each cluster consisted of ten students of a single gender. Two clusters would be designated for junior and senior men, with the other two for junior and senior women. Each cluster had its own bathroom. New students over the age of 21 were also permitted to live in Choptank Hall.

Like all of the dormitories at Salisbury State College, Choptank Hall was named after a waterway on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, the Choptank River. This was voted upon by the student body in a poll in the school’s newspaper, the S.S.C Informer. Renovations followed soon after the building’s opening. In 1973, it was announced some of the lounges on the residential floors would be converted into living spaces to accommodate the growing number of students at Salisbury State College. Its next renovation would be in 2011. 

Choptank Hall continues to operate as a residence hall of Salisbury University. It remains coeducational, and houses 220 freshmen. Rooms are still in a cluster style, with roommates sharing a bathroom with other students in their ten person cluster. Double and triple rooms are available. It also has a lounge, classroom, kitchen, and laundry facilities.

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

“An Interview With Dave Ganoe.” The SSC Informer May 1973.

“Jack the Ripper.” The SSC Informer February 1973.

“Better Living Through Change.” The SSC Informer May 1972.

“Dorm to Open Fall of ‘72.” The SSC Informer September 1971.

“Dormitory Shakeup Announced.” The SSC Informer December 10th 1971.

“New Dorm Named.” The SSC Informer February 1972.

“Help Name the Dorm.” The SSC Informer October 1971.

“Mr. Lovely Projects Lovely Ideas in Housing Organization.” The SSC Informer September 1973.

Salisbury University. Choptank Hall. Salisbury University. Accessed July 8th 2020. https://www.salisbury.edu/administration/student-affairs/housing-and-residence-life/residence-halls/choptank.aspx.