Oliver Otis Howard was born in Leeds, Maine on November 8, 1830. He graduated from Bowdoin College in 1850, and would go on to study in the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, where he would graduate in 1854. In May of 1861, shortly after the Battle of Ft. Sumter, Howard joined the 3rd Maine Volunteer Infantry. During his time in the infantry, he fought in the First Battle of Bull Run in 1861, campaigned during the Peninsular Campaign in 1862, and took part in the Battle of Antietam and the Battle of Seven Pines, where he would lose his right arm in the fight. Through his prowess during the Tennessee and Atlanta campaigns between 1863 and 1864 he was promoted to commander of the Army of the Tennessee.Under the instructions of President Andrew Johnson, General Howard became Commissioner of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands in 1865, and through his membership with the Missionary Society of the First Congregational Church of Washington helped to found <a href="http://www.theclio.com/web/entry?id=15187" target="_blank">Howard University</a> on March 2, 1867, where he would become the third president of the university in 1869, a position that he served for until 1874. This three story building was General Howard's home. It is a Victorian-style mansion of sixteen rooms. The structure is made of white brick painted red (though it has since been painted white) atop a granite foundation, and includes a basement and tower-like fourth story on the southwest corner and French-style. Some alterations were made during its lifetime; for example, the original porch was removed, and the interior rooms were divided by partitions.

Howard Hall in the 1870s (parkviewdc.com)

General Oliver Otis Howard (http://bangordailynews.com/)

Historic photographs of Howard Hall can be viewed here

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This building was the historic home of General Oliver Otis Howard, a Unionist during the American Civil War and co-founder of Howard University - one of the earliest higher level institutions devoted to the education of freedmen. It served as his residence while he was president of the University between 1869 and 1874, and is the oldest surviving building in the campus. It was added to the list of National Historic Landmarks in Washington, D.C. in May, 1974.

Howard Hall

Classroom

This walking tour includes landmarks found on the campus of Howard University, a leading historically black university established in 1867. Howard is a private university and consistently ranks among the top research universities in a variety of categories. Howard has trained many leading historians, attorneys, and physicians and its archives hold significant collections related to African American history. This walking tour is a work in progress and we encourage Howard students, faculty, and alumni to add buildings and landmarks to Clio so that we might add them to this tour.

A short history of Howard University and Howard Medical SchoolSince 1867, Howard has awarded more than 100,000 degrees in the professions, arts, sciences, and humanities. Howard ranks among the highest producers of the nation's Black professionals in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, engineering, nursing, architecture, religion, law, music, social work, and education. Carter G. Woodson, "The Father of Black History," was a professor and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Howard.&nbsp;Howard has grown from a single-frame building in 1867 and evolved to more than 89 acres, including the six-story, 400-bed Howard University Hospital. Since 1974, it has expanded to include a 22-acre School of Law West Campus, a 22-acre School of Divinity East Campus and another three-fifths of an acre facility in northeast Washington and a 108-acre tract of land in Beltsville, Maryland.Shortly after the end of the Civil War, members of The First Congregational Society of Washington considered establishing a theological seminary for the education of African-American clergymen. Within a few weeks, the project expanded to include a provision for establishing a university. Within two years, the University consisted of the Colleges of Liberal Arts and Medicine. The new institution was named for General Oliver Otis Howard, a Civil War hero, who was both the founder of the University and, at the time, Commissioner of the Freemen's Bureau. Howard later served as President of the university from 1869–74.Revella Hughes, a talented singer, musician and educator were alumni from Howard. She received her Bachelor's in Music in 1917.&nbsp;Alain Locke, Chair of the Department of Philosophy and first African American Rhodes Scholar, authored The New Negro, which helped to usher in the Harlem Renaissance. Ralph Bunche, the first Nobel Peace Prize winner of African descent, served as chair of the Department of Political Science. Beginning in 1942, Howard University students pioneered the "stool-sitting" technique, which was to play a prominent role in the later civil rights movement. By January 1943, students had begun to organize regular sit-ins and pickets at cigar stores and cafeterias around Washington, D.C. which refused to serve them because of their race. These protests continued until the administration asked the students to stop in the Fall of 1944. Stokely Carmichael, also known as Kwame Toure, a student in the Department of Philosophy and the Howard University School of Divinity coined the term "Black Power" and worked in Lowndes County, Alabama as a voting rights activist.&nbsp;Historian Rayford Logan served as chair of the Department of History E. Franklin Frazier served as chair of the Department of Sociology. Sterling Allen Brown served as chair of the Department of English. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson delivered a speech to the graduating class at Howard, where he outlined his plans for civil rights legislation and endorsed aggressive affirmative action to combat the effects of years of segregation of Blacks from the nation's economic opportunities. At the time, the Voting Rights bill was still pending in the House of Representatives.In 1975 the historic Freedman's Hospital closed after 112 years of use as Howard University College of Medicine's primary teaching hospital. Howard University Hospital opened that same year and serves as Howard University College of Medicine's teaching hospital with service to the surrounding community. U.S. Department of Education&nbsp;fundsHoward University and Howard University Hospital.

A small historic marker at the entrance of Howard University Hospital commemorates Freedman's Hospital which was established near this location in 1862. The first hospital was located at  12th and R Street and seven years later, a new hospital was constructed at this location. A teaching hospital, Freedman's Hospital trained nurses, physicians, and surgeons who upon graduation established practices and worked at hospitals throughout the nation. A new building was completed in 1908 and this third version of Freedmen’s Hosptial was in operation from 1908 to 1975. That facility, located on Bryant Street, closed when Howard University Hospital opened this facility and the building now houses the Howard University School of Communications.

Howard University Hospital (Freedmen's Hospital Historical Marker)

Since its founding in 1867, Howard University has offered the most advanced degree opportunities to African American students, including the medical programs. The original campus, located in a one-room building, grew to become an institution that served the people of DC and trained thousands of Black physicians. The first graduating class of Howard Medical College was comprised of one white student and seven African American students, a reflection of the university's commitment to have an acceptance policy that did not require a high school diploma and only required students to be of good moral character. Howard University has expanded since its founding to included Howard Hospital, a law school, and 13 satellite campuses.Dr. Augusta, the first professor of color at Howard's Medical Department, was born in Norfolk, Virginia on March 8, 1885. He later moved to Baltimore, where he pursued a career as a barber and received private tutoring in the field of medicine.&nbsp; Augusta was rejected from each college in the United States but persisted until he was able to receive formal training outside of his home country. Augusta, under the guidance of Professor William Gibson from the University of Pennsylvania, applied for admission to the University of Toronto. Rejected from American colleges owing to his race, Augusta was accepted to the university and graduated with a bachelors in medicine from Toronto’s Trinity Medical College.

Augusta became the Toronto region’s first African American physician. Augusta used this status to become a role model and leader of the community, and often donated his services to the poor of Toronto. He also founded literary organizations that donated books to African American students and authored several antislavery articles. In 1863 he returned to the states to support the Union cause and help people of color escape the bonds of slavery.&nbsp;

Augusta wrote to President Lincoln on January 7, 1863, shortly after the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect. Augusta requested that he be placed as a surgeon in the African American unit in the Union Army which started his military career as the first African American regimental surgeon of the 7th Regiment of U.S. Colored Troops. After this appointment, Augusta rose to the rank of Brevent Lieutenant Colonel and was later placed in charge of an army hospital in Savannah, Georgia. This opportunity allowed Dr. Augusta to rise to the rank of Major on April 4, 1863 which made him the first African American to achieve that rank in the army.&nbsp;

While Dr. Augusta broke down barriers within the segregated armed forces, but in the first part of his service, he was only paid the salary of an enlisted man. However, he successfully petitioned the army and received pay based off his rank. After winning this battle, Augusta was the victim of a brutal hate crime. When coming off a train in Baltimore, Maryland Augusta was attacked by white passengers who were offended by the sight of an African American in an officers uniform. Augusta responded by publicizing the details of his horrific ordeal despite the likelihood of reprisals. He also led efforts to desegregate the railway system in DC.Augusta resigned his commission on October 13, 1866. After his military service, he taught human anatomy at Howard University while serving as a private physician from 1866 to 1877 when he retired. Dr. Augusta passed away on December 21, 1890, and became the first African American officer to be buried in Arlington Cemetery.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Howard Medical College dates back to November 9, 1868, when the Medical Department of Howard University held its first classes with five faculty members and eight students. Seven of the eight students were African Americans, and as the department grew along with the university, a rising number of Black physicians joined the ranks of Howard graduates. The founding faculty members included four white and one African American professor, Dr. Alexandra Augusta. Augusta was the forebearer of many African American physicians whose career served African American communities at a time when they were denied service in many doctor's offices and hospitals. And like Augusta, these graduates became leaders in the military, civil service, business, and community organizations. 

Howard Medical College

On November 17, 1911, three Howard University students, with the assistance of their adviser, formed the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. This event occurred in the office of biology Professor Ernest E. Just in Thirkield Hall. The three liberal arts students were Edgar A. Love, Oscar J. Cooper, and Frank Coleman. The name for Omega Psi Phi was given from the initials of the Greek phrase meaning "friendship is essential to the soul.” The phrase was selected as the motto for the fraternity. These four men also set four main principles: Manhood, Scholarship, Perseverance, and Uplift. Along with the motto, a decision was made regarding the design the fraternity’s emblem. This first meeting proved that this fraternity would be a determined group ready to make a change in their community.

&nbsp;Omega Psi Phi continued to grow, but Howard University officials did not initially recognize the fraternity as a national organization and&nbsp;Omega Psi Phi’s&nbsp;leadership refused to accept limited recognition. As a result, the fraternity operated without official sanction, until the university withdrew its opposition in 1914. The fraternity was actively involved itself in its country during the First World War. Omega played a vital role when the United States entered World War I in 1917 by having many fraternity brothers in the first class of Black soldiers to graduate from Camp Fort Des Moines in Iowa.

Members of Omega Psi Phi still involve themselves in their communities through projects and programs. Chapters participate in activities that will uplift their communities. Some of the activities included voter registration, working with Habitat for Humanity, mentoring youth, and participation in fundraisers for different charities. Another example of involving themselves in their communities is through step shows.Stepdance is commonly practiced by historically Black fraternities and plays a large role on the campus of many historically Black colleges. Many colleges and fraternities have signature step dances, which may even playfully mock the dances of other schools and organizations. The members of Omega Psi Phi are known for their intricate kicks, jumps, neck rolls, and barking like an Omega. The members learn intricate step dances and they are used as a part of the initiation. This initiation event is known as a probate.

.With the motto of “friendship is essential to the soul,” and four main components: manhood, scholarship, perseverance and uplift, Omega Psi Phi involves itself in different activities based on community service. There are many notable alumni that became leaders in many different sectors at local, national and international levels.

Thirkfield Hall was constructed in 1901 and thirty-five years later, it was named in honor of Wilbur P. Thirkield, the 8th President of Howard University. Thirkield Hall is also the birthplace of Omega Psi Phi fraternity.  The building holds the Physics Department of Howard University, arguably the most influential and historically significant private Black universiy in the United States. 

Thirkield Hall  and the Founding of Omega Psi Phi

Howard was founded in 1866 by missionaries for the purpose of training Black ministers, and quickly expanded its original focus during its first years to include educators and other learned professions. The school&nbsp;was named in honor of General Oliver O. Howard , the Commissioner of the Freedman’s Bureau who later served as one of the university’s first presidents. Howard provided education to many of the men and women who became the educators of former slaves during the Reconstruction era&nbsp;and grew to become one of the premiere HBCUs in the nation, bestowing more Ph.D.s than any of its peers.&nbsp;. In the early years of the institution, Howard’s Main Building housed almost all of the university’s functions, including the library. As the university grew, it became apparent that the single floor allotted to the library would not suffice; not only had the collection grown past the library’s means, but there was no full-time librarian employed for the maintenance of said collection, meaning that it was nearly impossible for students to borrow books. The Carnegie Library was constructed in 1910 which allowed the university to acquire over 4 times the volumes than the Main Building library, yet by the 1930s, it became apparent that the university would need even more space. Thus, the Founders Library was designed and took the place of the Main Building. With improved reading spaces designed with students in mind, this library has continued to serve Howard’s students for almost 80 years.Albert I. Cassell completed his bachelor’s in architecture at Cornell in 1919 despite taking a year off to serve in WWI. After graduating, his work quickly gained notoriety allowing him to secure a position at Howard just two years after completing his undergraduate degree. By the time he left his position in 1938, Cassell had created plans for new buildings which would eventually double the original size of campus. He also created and presided over the College of Engineering and Architecture. Before his death in 1969, Cassell contributed to public housing developments throughout D.C. and worked on projects at Reagan Airport and the Pentagon.	His design for the Founders Library was inspired by Independence Hall in Philadelphia. When the building was dedicated in 1938, it was the most expensive building on a college campus in the US and was also notable for being the most complete library among the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (Douglas-Gabriel, "Albert I. Cassell"). Although it has been primarily used as a library, it housed the law school at Howard from 1944-55. In this building, Charles Hamilton Houston and Thurgood Marshall constructed the arguments that would end segregation in schools.In 2016, the National Trust for Historic Preservation named the Founders Library a national treasure, meaning that the organization is partnering with Howard University to create a preservation and renovation plan for the building, including updating spaces that aren’t used to their full potential as well as improving technology. Currently, the NTHP is working to secure funding for these new renovation plans. Part of their job is to assist in lowering the costs of the renovation by seeking tax credits as well as securing corporate investors.

One of the most notable buildings on Howard University's historic campus, Founder’s Library was designed and constructed in the 1930s by African American architect and Howard professor Albert I. Cassell. The library was a monumental accomplishment for the university at the time of its completion as it allowed the expansion of volumes to grow from 85,000 to 500,000. Recently named a national treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the building continues to grow and better suit students’ needs in the 21st century.

Founders Library, Howard University

Frederick Douglass was born as a slave in 1818, but was able to escape to New England after twenty years of bondage. Upon escaping to freedom, Douglass&nbsp;worked with prominent white abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison. Soon, Douglass became an even more powerful voice against slavery than his mentor and he became an influential member of the&nbsp;American Anti-Slavery Society (AASS). Douglass remained in this group even as it began to lose many of its Black members until deciding that he would be able to spread his message more effectively as an individual. He started publishing his own work in 1847.&nbsp;Douglass became more radical in his beliefs, breaking with many leading white abolitionists such as Garrison that refused to consider the use of violence to end slavery. Douglass had endured violence while a slave and this experience and the success of several rebel slaves and runways led Douglass to consider the need to use any means to liberate oneself from bondage. Although there were notable exceptions such as John Brown, white abolitionists typically counseled patience and the use of moral suasion or political action. While Douglass and other Black abolitionists also utilized these tactics, they refused to condemn African Americans who had liberated themselves by any means necessary.&nbsp;Douglass was a member of the Board of Trustees at Howard from 1871-1895. This building was dedicated in 1935 and designed by African American architect Albert Cassell. Cassell designed the building after joining Howard as a professor in the Architecture Department in 1920. Over the course of 18 years, Cassell contributed other designs and helped expand Howard’s campus by working to purchase land and begin new construction. Cassell worked on nine different buildings, three of which are considered among the most important and notable on campus today: the Chemistry Building, Founders Library, and Frederick Douglass Memorial Hall.The building contains numerous classrooms and houses the Departments of Political Science, Sociology and Anthropology, History, and the R.O.T.C. Program. Over the years, it has also been a home for the Departments of Education and Psychology as well as the Deans of the College of Liberal Arts and the Graduate School. It is located in the main yard of the university along with the Founders Library and other notable buildings.Howard University was founded in 1867 and remains one of the premiere historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Named after Civil War General Oliver Otis Howard, the school was founded&nbsp;to train teachers and ministers and evolved to include a variety of other courses and programs that allowed students of color the opportunity to pursue&nbsp;higher education. Howard established the first Black law school soon after its conception and trained may of the attorneys that challenged discriminatory laws in the 20th century.&nbsp;Howard graduates include some of the most successful civil rights lawyers such as Thurgood Marshall, whose work led to the NAACP's victory in Brown vs Board in 1954.

Constructed in 1935, Frederick Douglass Memorial Hall remains a symbol of Howard University, which is widely recognized as one of the leading Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The building stands in honor of one of the leading abolitionists and intellectuals of the 19th century and showcases the architectural work of former Howard professor Albert Cassell. Cassell became one of the most successful African American architects during the mid 20th Century. Visitors will notice the unique U-shape of the building and can tour the interior which contains classrooms and various academic departments.

Frederick Douglass Memorial Hall, Howard University

Hailed as the first professional African-American and Native-American sculptor, Mary Edmonia Lewis had little training but overcame numerous obstacles to become a respected artist. The daughter of a Black father and part-Ojibwa mother, she was orphaned at an early age and, as she later claimed, was raised by some of her mother's relatives.With the support and encouragement of a successful older brother, Lewis attended Oberlin College in Ohio where she emerged as a talented artist. The abolitionist movement was active on the Oberlin campus and would greatly influence her later work. Lewis then went on to Boston, Massachusetts where she began pursuing her career as a sculptor. Her work was primarily inspired by the lives of abolitionists and heroes of the Civil War. In Boston, Lewis befriended abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison and sculptor Edward A. Brackett. It was Brackett who taught Lewis sculpture and helped propel her to set up her own studio. By the early 1860s, her clay and plaster medallions of Garrison, John Brown and other abolitionist leaders gave her a small measure of commercial success.One of her most prized works was "Forever Free" (1867), a sculpture depicting a Black man and woman emerging from the bonds of slavery. Another piece, "The Arrow Maker" (1866), draws on her Native-American roots and shows a father teaching his young daughter how to make an arrow. In recent decades, however, Lewis's life and art have received posthumous acclaim. Her pieces are now part of the permanent collections of the Howard University Gallery of Art and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Edmonia Lewis was a hero of female artists of the times as she was not only a female in a male-dominant field but also of African-American and Native-American ethnicities that excelled with such thought-provoking and stunning pieces.

Established in 1928 and located in Childers Hall, Howard University's Gallery of Art offers a mixture of European, African, and American works in a permanent collection that includes such works as Henry O. Tanner’s Return from the Crucifixion. Among the works displayed at the museum are those of Edmonia Lewis, the first professional African-American and Native-American sculptor. 

Howard University Gallery of Art

Oliver Otis Howard was born in Leeds, Maine on November 8, 1830. He graduated from Bowdoin College in 1850, and would go on to study in the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, where he would graduate in 1854. In May of 1861, shortly after the Battle of Ft. Sumter, Howard joined the 3rd Maine Volunteer Infantry. During his time in the infantry, he fought in the First Battle of Bull Run in 1861, campaigned during the Peninsular Campaign in 1862, and took part in the Battle of Antietam and the Battle of Seven Pines, where he would lose his right arm in the fight. Through his prowess during the Tennessee and Atlanta campaigns between 1863 and 1864 he was promoted to commander of the Army of the Tennessee. Under the instructions of President Andrew Johnson, General Howard became Commissioner of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands in 1865, and through his membership with the Missionary Society of the First Congregational Church of Washington helped to found <a href="http://www.theclio.com/web/entry?id=15187" target="_blank">Howard University</a> on March 2, 1867, where he would become the third president of the university in 1869, a position that he served for until 1874.  This three story building was General Howard's home. It is a Victorian-style mansion of sixteen rooms. The structure is made of white brick painted red (though it has since been painted white) atop a granite foundation, and includes a basement and tower-like fourth story on the southwest corner and French-style. Some alterations were made during its lifetime; for example, the original porch was removed, and the interior rooms were divided by partitions.

Howard University Walking Tour

Howard Hall

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information