From These Roots

Throughout the 1950s, the enrollment numbers at North Greenville continued to grow. Taylor Hall was the only men’s dorm on campus that was built to be a dorm, but it could not accommodate every male resident student, and a committee from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools had termed the dorm “hazardous” after their campus visit. The old farmhouse, at times, called “The Big House” or “The McKinney House” was used as a men’s dorm as well as the old dairy barn that had been converted and dubbed “Guernsey Hall”. By 1958, it was clear North Greenville needed a new men’s dorm. The site chosen for the new dorm was towards the back of campus and grading began in late 1958.

Dr. Donnan had recently visited Emory University and liked the new motel-style dorms on the Emory campus. So, he drew up some plans based off of what he had seen at Emory and presented them to the Board of Trustees in January 1959. The dorm would have four levels with each row of rooms looking over the top of another with a patio in between. There would be 72 bedrooms, a dean’s room, a reception area, a TV lounge, a utility room, and a boiler room. The bedrooms were built suite-style in sets of two with a bathroom connecting them.

The trustees approved the plans and groundbreaking for the new dorm was held on January 22, 1959, as a part of the Founder’s Day celebrations. Materials were ordered immediately and bulldozers finished clearing the site. Dr. Donnan directly supervised the project himself and the plans were to open the dorm by the fall 1959 semester. Utilizing mostly student workers and local labor, twenty-eight of the seventy rooms were ready for occupants by the fall and in moved 54 men. By March 1960, enough of the dorm was completed for 88 more men to move in from Taylor Hall.

A dedication service for the new men’s dorm was held on May 18, 1963. As a part of a campus-wide naming celebration, the wings of the new dorm were named after the first six principals of North Greenville. The Brock Wing was named after the first principal, Mr. Hugh Lafayette Brock, who served at North Greenville from 1892-1895. His niece, Mrs. Smith, participated in the unveiling of his plaque. The Finch Wing was named after the second principal, John Silas Miles Finch, who served as principal from 1895-1898. Mr. Finch’s daughter, Mrs. Green, participated in the unveiling of her father’s plaque. The Peterson Wing was named in honor of O.J. Peterson, the third principal of North Greenville, who served from 1898-1902. Mr. Peterson did not have any family present so Mrs. Donnan unveiled the Peterson plaque. The Boyles Wing was named after the fourth principal, S. Frank Boyles, who also did not have family present. Edith Caldwell, the college dietitian, unveiled the Boyles plaque. The Scott Wing was named for William Fletcher Scott, the fifth principal of North Greenville who served from 1904-1906. Elsie Tuttle, an instructor at North Greenville, unveiled the Scott plaque since no family members were present. The last wing, the Jones Wing, was named after the sixth principal, Leslie Augustus Jones, who served from 1906-1910. Mr. Herbert Jones, Jr., a nephew of Principal Jones, unveiled the Jones plaque.

While each wing had a name, the dorm as a whole remained nameless until 1972. By this time, a newer men’s dorm had been constructed and Taylor Hall had been torn down. The North Greenville board of trustees voted at their July meeting in 1972 to name the older men’s dorm Lawton Hall and the newer men’s dorm Bruce Hall. Lawton Hall was named after Dr. Samuel Miller Lawton who was the first academic dean and co-founder of North Greenville Junior College. Dr. Lawton was also a born-blind preacher, missionary, founder of the Aurora Club (which became the National Federation of the Blind of South Carolina), and the first chairman of the South Carolina Commission for the Blind. At the time of his death, Dr. Lawton was serving as a trustee of North Greenville Junior College.

After years of disrepair, it was announced in 1979 that plans were being made to replace Lawton Hall. A 1.3 million dollar loan was approved in late 1981 for the school to build a new men’s dorm where Lawton Hall stood. Lawton Hall was torn down around this same time to make room for The Units which still stand today.