Opened in 1870, expanded beginning in 1886, and completed in 1894, it has housed classrooms, a theater, recitation rooms, the post office, and student and faculty housing. 

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Lenfest Commons

Wilson College

After it was purchased by the College in 1905, this 19th century farm house was used as the residence of eight of Wilson’s presidents. Remodeled as the Hankey Center in 2003 it now includes temperature-controlled storage, exhibit space, offices, and seminar rooms.

C. Elizabeth Boyd ’33 Archives and Barron Blewett Hunnicutt Classics Gallery

The Hankey Center

The Harry R. Brooks Complex for Science, Mathematics and Technology 
opened to the Wilson community on January 19, 2009 with tours, an 
introduction to facilities, and the dedication of a time capsule. The 
$25 million building was the first LEED-certified building in Franklin 
County. It includes state-of-the-art laboratories, a 28-foot water 
wall, natural history museum exhibit space, an auditorium, and computer 
labs. The Brooks Complex added 25,000 square feet to the Havens Science
 Center and incorporated the historic building into its design. It 
includes laboratory space for Chemistry, Biology, Ecology, Behavioral 
Sciences, and Veterinary Medical Technology Anatomy/Physiology and 
Clinical Practices.

Harry R. Brooks Complex for Science, Mathematics and Technology

Lortz Hall was built in 1923. The initial donation was given by John 
Lortz for a new science building. Lortz housed the physics and chemistry
 departments until Havens Science Center was built in 1968. Currently, 
the building houses the Fine Arts and Dance department.

Lortz Hall

The John Stewart Memorial Library was built in 1923. Architects, 
Furness, Evans, and Company of Philadelphia modeled the building in a 
popular style of other prestigious colleges in the United States, The 
architectural style, Collegiate Gothic, focuses on elements such as 
buttresses, dormers, arches, and limestone bricks. The John Stewart 
Memorial Library was named by George H. Stewart, in memory of his 
brother John. An annex was added to the library in 1966 to create space 
for more volumes. The annex was torn down to create a new addition, 
completed in 2016, which includes dramatic new space for a learning 
commons, new technology, an art gallery and a new bookstore.

John Stewart Memorial Library

In 1929, Ludlow and Peabody architects built this collegiate Gothic 
style building. This building is located in the center of campus and 
contains primarily offices and classrooms for the humanities and social
 sciences departments. It also includes Allen Auditorium, named for 
former professor Jean Allen who taught biology for many years. Elements 
of Warfield Hall that mimic those of the collegiate gothic style consist
 of dormers, a limestone exterior, a Tudor style doorway, buttresses and
 gables. The building's original name was Recitation Hall but was 
renamed in memory of Dr. Ethelbert Warfield, College president from 
1915-1936.

Warfield Hall

Built in 1897 to be the home of the director of the music program, Harmony Cottage was pivoted to its present orientation in 1929 to accommodate construction of the neighboring and much larger Recitation (now Warfield) Hall.

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Harmony Cottage

Alumnae House was constructed in 1896. Architect Maurice R. Rhodes designed this building as a home for the College’s president. It later housed the infirmary, student and faculty residences, and offices.

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Offices of Alumnae Relations and College Development

Alumnae House

This Colonial Revival residence hall was completed in 1899 and has housed students ever since. The original design for South Hall included two wings which were never built.

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South Hall

Construction of Riddle Hall was completed in 1929 and is of the English 
Gothic style. It is named after Henry A. Riddle, a trustee of the 
college.

Riddle Hall

The Sharpe House was built around 1887 in the Victorian Queen Anne Style designed by Philadelphia architect, W. Bleddyn Powell. Since it was purchased in 1942 by Wilson, it has housed students, faculty, staff, a faculty club, and senior seminar classes. In 1998 it was remodeled as housing for students and their children enrolled in Wilson’s Women with Children Program. In 2001, after extensive restoration work, Sharpe House became the home of Wilson’s president.

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Joshua W. Sharpe House

Rosenkrans Hall was started and completed in 1966 by the Austin E. 
Knowlton Company, of Columbus, Ohio. The hall sits on the south side of 
campus and is named after Lillian M. Rosenkrans. Rosenkrans was a 
prominant figure on campus in her role as the Dean of the College for 
twenty years. She also helped start the American Association of 
University Women, Franklin County branch. The dormitory has a modern 
rectangular symmetry, limestone exterior, and large windows.

Rosenkrans Hall

Disert Hall, designed by the Austin E. Knowlton Company, is named after 
Dean Margaret Disert. Margaret Criswell Disert graduated from Wilson 
College in 1920 with a Bachelor of Arts. She went on to receive her 
Master’s at Columbia University in 1927. She worked as a math teacher at
 Wilson from 1924-1928, and then as registrar and freshmen adviser from 
1928-1938. In 1938, Disert was appointed as Dean of Wilson College, a 
position she served in until 1964 with a four-year absence. During her 
leave, which lasted from August 1942-September 1946, Disert served with 
the Women’s Reserve, United States Naval Reserve (WAVES). She was the 
first Pennsylvanian inducted in the WAVES and served as the Chief Waves 
Administrative Officer in the Office of Naval Officer Procurement, 
Philadelphia. The limestone dormitory was built in 1965.

Disert Hall

Construction of Prentis Hall began in 1955 and was completed in early 
1956 by Trautwein and Howard. Prentis Hall is named for Henning Webb 
Prentis Jr., who was both a member and president of the Board of 
Trustees. Its architectural style is similar to both Disert and 
Rosenkrans Halsl with its rectangular symmetry, limestone, and square 
windows.

Prentis Hall

Construction of Laird Hall began in 1948 with Architects, Trautwein 
&amp; Howard, and was completed in 1950. It was originally used for 
Alumnae offices. Later, Patterson lounge and the ballroom were added, 
and the building is currently used as a multi-purpose room, board rooms,
 and for guest lectures. Laird Hall is named after board of trustee 
member, Dr. John Laird, who was also president of the board and for a 
short time, acting president of the college.

Laird Hall

Thomson Hall was built in 1904 and named for Anne and Frank Thomson. It 
was built to provide space for the very successful music department of 
the college. Its architectural design is the Baroque Jacobethan style. 
It is composed of mostly limestone and sandstone trims. Some of its 
architectural features include; frontal gables, dormers, turrets, an 
arched doorway, and a semi-hexagonal projecting bay. In addition, 
Thomson Hall is home to the college chapel and the Cumberland Valley 
School of Music.

Thomson Hall

Colonel Alexander K. McClure’s, a supporter of Abraham Lincoln, original farmhouse was burned by Confederate soldiers in 1864 along with over 500 other buildings in Chambersburg. McClure rebuilt his home in the Second Empire style in 1865. In 1868 he sold the home, called Norland, &amp; adjoining property&nbsp; to Wilson College, which was seeking a location to incorporate and begin instruction.

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Norland Hall 

Originally built to be the campus chapel and library with dorm space above, Edgar Hall was dedicated in 1894. It was named after Wilson’s president,&nbsp; the Rev. Dr. John Edgar. It was designed by York, PA architect John A. Dempwolf to mirror Norland Hall. From 1891 to 1954 the structures were connected by Main Hall (now Lenfest Commons).

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Offices of the President, Financial Aid, Academic Dean, Registrar

Edgar Hall

Constructed with Trenton blue limestone in 1900, the New Gym as it was then known, was designed by Keyworth &amp; Company of York, PA. Noting that physical culture was an important part of a Wilson student’s education, the 1899-1900 college catalog boasted that the gym was equipped with “Swedish apparatus” as well as “dumb-bells, wands and Indian clubs.” 

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The Old Gym

The historic structures on the former Lehman Farm are examples of the makeup of an 18th century Germanic&nbsp; farmstead.&nbsp; The original log portion of the farmhouse with fire damage from the 1860s had to be demolished in the course of restoration, but lumber and hardware were salvaged.&nbsp; The early 19th century barn is exemplary of Franklin County’s agricultural history.&nbsp; Originally home to varied livestock and fowl and storage for small grain crops, the farm was converted to a dairy in the early 20th century when it provided milk for the Penn Hall Girls’ School.

Richard Alsina Fulton Center for Sustainable Living

Wilson College

Lenfest Commons

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context