From These Roots

“My favorite part of working in White Hall was the opportunity to spend time talking with students who would gather in the lobby or in those rockers on the front porch. On beautiful spring and fall afternoons, you would often find me there.” – Dr. Catherine Sepko, former Dean of Humanities at North Greenville

In the summer of 1936, the North Greenville Baptist Association asked its churches to contribute funds towards a women’s dorm at North Greenville. Wingo Hall, at the time just referred to as “the girl’s dorm”, could no longer house the number of women enrolled at the school. Mr. L.B. White was hired to raise funds and materials for the new dorm. Mr. White was a North Greenville trustee, the first pastor of North Greenville Baptist Church (later renamed Tigerville Baptist Church,) and a former North Greenville faculty member. His wife, Maude, had also previously served at North Greenville as a faculty member.

A loan for the construction was obtained from the South Carolina National Bank in Greenville. However, since North Greenville did not have any acceptable collateral, R.P. Turner, whom Turner Auditorium is named after, co-signed the loan for the school. Construction took place in the summer of 1937 using wood donated by B.F. Neves. Mr. F.O. Wood was the head carpenter and he along with students Grady Culbreth, Boyd Turner, Willis Wall, and Vernon Powell completed everything but the plaster and brickwork that summer. Others who pitched in on the construction include Grady Reece and “Fess” Blackwell. When the building was completed, the cost came to $20,000, and before his death in 1940, Rev. White had raised all but $2,000 of that amount. In 1952, the name of “North Hall” was changed to “White Hall” in his memory.

The women at North Greenville were very excited to have this new dorm. The closets in Wingo Hall were tiny and they had been sharing a room with 2-3 other girls. Since White Hall was more modern, the women who lived there had to pay more than those who lived in Wingo. Mrs. Maude White, the widow of Rev. White, moved into Wingo Hall and later White Hall after her husband’s death to serve as the Dean of Women until her retirement in 1957. Mrs. Jean McManus, North Greenville alumna and former faculty member, shared a memory of “Mamma White” in an oral history interview earlier this year:

“If we had a boyfriend, we had to sit around in the parlor and Mother White kept her eye on you. You couldn’t mess around without her seeing you. We also liked to play pranks on her. Francis Willis from Travelers Rest was a good pianist and she loved to do Twelfth Street Rag and all that boogey woogey stuff. We’d get down in the parlor and she’d get on the piano. We’d be just having a ball and someone would be watching out for Mamma White because she didn’t allow that. When someone saw her coming, we’d all take off to our rooms.”

White Hall stayed exclusively a women’s dorm until 1963 when Howard Hall was completed. At that time, the upstairs remained as an overflow dorm for women, and the downstairs became faculty offices and an apartment for faculty/married students. For a short time in 1969, the upstairs housed male students.

In 1970, White Hall renovations began. The offices of alumni affairs, publicity, and development were moved to the first floor. A 50-person conference room, a smaller conference room for the faculty, and a guest apartment were also included. The second floor was converted into faculty offices. At this time, the name of the building was nearly changed to “The Alumni Building”, but the name change never happened.

The next renovation of White Hall came in 1993. At the time, Admissions, Financial Aid, Denominational Relations/BSU, and faculty offices were located in the building. During this renovation, the inside walls were painted, carpet was replaced, mini blinds were added, and a new electric heating and air system was installed. The lobby was furnished to host prospective students and their families and the faculty lounge received an update as well. Admissions, Financial Aid, and Denominational Relations/BSU moved out around 1996 with the completion of the Hayes Ministry Center and White Hall became a fully academic building.

Since 1937 White Hall has stood firm on North Greenville’s hill. As the oldest building on the central part of campus, White Hall holds a special place in the history of the school. Generations of students have sat on the porch to enjoy the view, people-watch, and discuss life with other students and faculty.

What are your favorite memories of White Hall? We’d love to read about them in the comments.