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Women's History Month: The Women of W&M's Buildings

Updated: Mar 9, 2022

By Crystal Wang '25


In honor of Women’s History Month, the DoGStreet Journal highlights the women that William and Mary have dedicated their buildings to. In chronological order of when their names were attached to their buildings, we give a spotlight to Kate Waller Barrett, Grace Warren Landrum, Cornelia Storrs Adair, Althea Hunt, and Carroll S.F Hardy.


Kate Waller Barrett

Photo Courtesy of the Library of Virginia


Kate Waller Barrett was born on January 24th in Stafford Country, Virginia. The year of her birth is unclear; her father claimed she was born in 1857, though Kate herself claimed to be born in 1859, while her tombstone listed her birth in 1858. Throughout her life, she worked tirelessly as an advocate for women. Kate earned her M.D in 1894, which helped her open a rescue home for women. She was one of the founding members of the National Florence Critten Mission, an institution that opened homes to help unwed pregnant women and those who were forced into prostitution. She was also sent on many missions abroad by both President Theodore Roosevelt and President Woodrow Wilson. She served on the Board of Visitors for William and Mary from 1921 to 1924. She spent the rest of her life traveling to various parts of the world and speaking about many different issues. When she died on February 25th, 1925, the Governor of Virginia ordered the flag to be lowered on the state capital building in Richmond, the first time that a woman had such an honor. William and Mary begin construction on Kate Waller Barrett Hall the year after her death and finished it in 1927, making it the first building to be named for a woman.


Grace Warren Landrum

Photo Courtesy of Special Collections Research Center, W&M Libraries and TribeTrek


Born in Rhode Island on July 18th, 1876, Grace Warren Landrum dedicated 20 years of her life to William and Mary. She served as the Dean of Women and a professor of English from 1927 to 1947. Grace was also a member of the American Association of University Women. She published many academic articles in journals such as William and Mary Quarterly, published by the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture; American Literature, published by Duke University Press, and more. She published her book Charlotte in 1919 and the College dedicated Grace Warren Hall to her in 1959.


Cornelia Storrs Adair

Photo Courtesy of Encyclopedia Virginia


Cornelia Storrs Adair was born on November 14th, 1884 in West Virginia and graduated from William and Mary after two years with a bachelor's degree. She spent her life as an educator and advocate. She served as the president of the National Educators Association from 1927 to 1928, making her the first classroom teacher to be elected president of the union. She was a member of several other teachers’ associations such as the Teachers’ Co-operative Association, the Richmond League of Teachers Associations, and the National League of Teachers Associations. She was an avid advocate for women’s rights, education, and preserving the imagination of children. She became the first woman to recieve the William and Mary Alumni Medallion and Cornelia Storrs Adair Hall was dedicated to her in 1963.


Althea Hunt

Photo Courtesy of Special Collections Research Center, W&M Libraries and TribeTrek


Althea Hunt was born around 1891 and became a professor of English and Fine Arts at William and Mary in 1926 until she retired in 1961. What she is known for though, is being the mother of William and Mary Theatre. It is because of her that drama classes were first offered through the English department in 1926 and eventually the Fine Arts department in 1935. Althea was instrumental in creating the theatre program at William and Mary and fostering the enduring legacy of the William and Mary Theater. She was appointed director of the Theatre in 1926, and she spent the rest of her career ensuring that the program she started didn’t falter. In 2018, a William and Mary student wrote their honors thesis on her story. Althea Hunt Hall was renamed in her honor in 1978.


Carroll S.F. Hardy

Photo Courtesy of William and Mary


Carroll S.F. Hardy is the first (and as far as we know, the only) Black woman to have a building named after her at William and Mary. She became William and Mary’s Associate Dean of Minority Affairs in 1980 and eventually became Vice President for Student Affairs until she resigned in 1995. In her time at William and Mary, she inspired many students of color to attend this college and made the college more welcoming to students of color. She resigned in 1995, she continued working to ensure students of all nationalities and races had access to education. With the help of her siblings, she formed the Stuart Educational Leadership Group, Inc and National Black Student Leadership Development Conference which supported students through higher education. In May of 2012, she was granted honorary alumni status by William and Mary and she would pass away that November. Carroll S.F. Hardy Hall was renamed in her honor in 2016 and the Carroll F.S. Hardy Scholarship Endowment was established in her honor in 2018.


Honorary mention:

Photo Courtesy of Special Collections Center of the Library of W&M (Earl Gregg Swem Library)


Martha Barksdale was the first woman to graduate from William and Mary in 1921 and first president of the Women’s Student Councils. She was a leader in advocating for women’s sports and had three athletic fields named for her after retiring from teaching women’s physical education at William and Mary.


Correction: This article previously stated Grace Warren Landrum's birth year as 1976. Grace Warren Landrum's birth year has been updated to its correct year of 1876.

 
For further reading on the Women of W&M and their respective namesake buildings:

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