The campus bus, a large horse drawn wagon with plank seats, carried students from the train station up to Kingston Hill. The driver, William “Billy” Henry Potter began working for the school in 1896 as a beekeeper before becoming the bus driver. While transporting new students from the train station to the campus, Billy often regaled his young charges about the day he “whipped his horses into a lather” to get to the scene after hearing a “lad shout that the college was burning down.” Upon arriving at the burning College Hall, Billy learned that his brother, who was a janitor in College Hall, had been the last man out of the building. Billy retired in 1949 after 53 years of service to the College.

In rebuilding College Hall, soon to be renamed Davis Hall, the remaining portion of the west façade was incorporated into the new building. Note the complex wooden scaffolding, and the block and tackle pulley system used to position the granite blocks in place. The new building was completed by the fall of 1896.

Workmen had to use horse drawn carts and wagons to clear the rubble of College Hall before construction could begin on Davis Hall. In the background to the left stands the Watson farmhouse, which was converted to a girl’s dormitory that same year (1895). To the right is Taft Hall, and the center area where the wooden out-buildings appear is now the site of the University Library.

On Sunday, January 27, 1895, College Hall caught on fire. Fanned by 40 miles an hour winds, the flames consumed the building in forty-five minutes. All that remained after the fire was the front façade and parts of the side walls of the Hall. In this photograph the right side wall of the building is propped up by wooden planks. College Hall was rebuilt and renamed Davis Hall in honor of Governor John W. Davis.

Constructed in 1958-59 on the site of the old South Hall, the Carlotti Administration building serves the varied needs of the University. NAMED IN HONOR OF ?

South Hall was built in 1890, in the Victorian wood frame style, as a boarding house for students. Condemned as living space in the 1940's, the English department occupied the building until it was finally torn down in the summer of 1958. The Carlotti Adminstration building now stands on the site.

This photogragh, taken in 1894, show from left to right Taft Hall, which was sometimes referred to as the Chemical Laboratory in the School's annual reports, College Hall as it looked before the fire of 1895, and the Boarding Hall or South Hall. South Hall was torn down in 1958.

Interior view of the library in College Hall before it was destroyed by fire in 1895.

Ties between the poultry research of the Station and the needs of the School prompted the College to offer the first summer-school "special course," in poultry husbandry. The rigorous 4-week offering ran for 12 hours a day, beginning at 6 a.m., and included classes in zoology, anatomy, physiology, plus practical instruction in carpentry, food chemistry, caponizing, and breeding. It was the first practical summertime education program of its kind in the country. The poultry course was later expanded into a four-year curriculum.

Taken about 1897, this photograph shows the use of a steam powered tractor supplying the energy needs of the Agricultural Laboratory.

Designed and built in 1928 by Bigelow, Kent, Willard and Company, Rodman Hall first served as an armory and then as a gymnasium. Called Hammond Hall, in honor of Captain Hammond, commandant of the first Reserved Officers Training Corps (ROTC) unit based in the building, Rodman Hall was renamed in 1938 for Thomas Rodman. Hired in 1890, Rodman was a professor of mechanical engineering, physics, and the college’s building superintendent who oversaw much of the campus construction. As a gymnasium, Rodman Hall was home to the Rhode Island Running Rams basketball team and the legendary Coach Frank Keaney. It was here that Keaney developed the fast break that changed the face of basketball. Today Rodman Hall is home to the Graduate School of Library and Information Services and the Community Planning and Landscape Architecture Department.

Originally founded in 1920 as Zeta Pi Alpha, the fraternity changed its name to Sigma Alpha Epislon in 1929 and moved into this house in 1932. The International Engineering Program, an innovative program that allows students to graduate skilled in both engineering and a foreign language, took over the building when the SAE house became vacant in 1998.

The Dairy Barns were located on West Alumni Avenue across from Burnside Dormitory and behind Heathman Dormitory. The barns were first built under the direction of the State Agricultural School's first president, Dr. John H. Washburn, then expanded in the 1930's. By the mid-1970's, use of the barns were discontinued and they were finally torn down in 2002.

After many years of disrepair, reconstruction of the Watson began in July of 1963 under the supervision of Mr. Harry W. Huntington of Wickford with Mrs. George E. Downing and Mr. Donald Shepard of Providence as consultants. The restoration was completed in 1964.

The farmhouse, probably built around 1796, is the oldest structure on the campus of the University of Rhode Island. The house was named after its last owner, Oliver Watson, who occupied the house between 1844 and 1888. At least nine different families lived in the house before 1844. In 1888 the Watson Farm was purchased as the site for the State Agricultural School and the Agricultural Experiment Station.

Green Hall was built and named for Governor Theodore Francis Green in 1937. This stately granite Georgian Revival building was the University's first full-fledged library. It was also the place where students studied, registered for classes, paid bills, bought their books, and met with deans and faculty. Green Hall, which was recently renovated in 2001, now houses the offices of the President, Provost, and Enrollment Services.

Quinn Hall, built in 1936, was originally the home economics building. It was named after Rhode Island Governor Robert E. Quinn (1937-1939). The building is now the home of the College of Human Science and Services.

Washburn Hall was built in 1921. The building was originally called Agricultural Hall, but was later named after John H. Washburn (1889-1902), the first president of Rhode Island State College. Washburn Hall is currently home to the departments of Marine Affairs, History, and Political Science.

Edwards Hall, built in 1928, was named in honor of Howard Edwards, the President of Rhode Island State College from 1906 to 1930.

In 1908 the fraternity system began on the Rhode Island State College campus, with the first fraternity, Rho Iota Kappa, followed by the first national fraternity (Theta Chi) in 1910. Beta Phi built the first fraternity house in 1912.

Built in 1891 near the present day greenhouses and the Resource Development Laboratory, Ladd Laboratory was originally called the Veterinary Building. The building featured a lecture room twenty-five feet square, described as "well ventilated, and lighted by a skylight eight by ten feet." Renamed Ladd Laboratory in 1892 in honor of Governor Herbert Ladd, the laboratory was transferred to the Engineering Department, and then served as an extension of Edwards library(1934). In later years the building served as the offices of the superintendent of farms, then as workshops and storage for the Buildings and Grounds Department. Photographs and maps dating from the early 1960's no longer featured the Ladd building.

On Sunday, January 27, 1895, while most of the young men and faculty were at church, College Hall caught on fire. With wind blowing at 40 miles an hour, the building was consumed in forty-five minutes. College Hall was rebuilt as Davis Hall in honor of Governor John W. Davis.

Built in 1891, College Hall was completed to house the agricultural school students and faculty.

Starting out as a women’s dormitory in 1936, Roosevelt Hall was named after Eleanor Roosevelt. It was reported that Mrs. Roosevelt planted the first flowering Crab Apple tree on the north side the main door of Roosevelt Hall in 1938 during a dedication of the building in her honor.

Taft Hall was built in 1890. It was originally known as the Experiment Station but later named for Governor Royal C. Taft. Today, Taft houses URI’s Office of International Education and National Student Exchange which sponsors University programs abroad and helps students make arrangements for foreign study. The Office of Internships and Experiential Education is also located here.