Lawrence University Archives

The Lawrence University Archives has created a new exhibit in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the consolidation of Milwaukee-Downer College & Lawrence College into Lawrence University. The exhibit can be viewed in person in the Milwaukee-Downer room of the library or online via this QR code or at https://archives94.wixsite.com/milwaukeedowner

Today at 1:50 pm at the library an opening will be held for the exhibit "What is First-Year Studies?" This exhibit was researched and created by students in History 203 and will be available to view through Reunion Weekend.

Stop by the Harper lobby to see a poster display researched and designed by Miranda Lile '25 with resources from the Lawrence University Archives. The display celebrates the 150th anniversary of the Conservatory by showcasing snapshots from its history. The display will be up until June 18th.

This 1851 advertisement for the Preparatory Department of Lawrence University shows what prospective students could expect from their education. The preparatory department provided pre-collegiate education and was opened before Lawrence began offering college-level education.

Image: Advertisement from Preparatory Department, July 1851, ARC2022-136.

52 years ago today, on April 17th, 1972, the Lawrence University Association of African-Americans (AAA) occupied administrative offices on campus as part of a planned protest. Members of the organization presented a list of demands to then president, Thomas Smith, which included calls for increased recruitment of Black students, faculty and staff.

Photo: List of demands from the African American Association, 1972-04-17, ARC2017-097.

Nearly 100 years ago, members of the Lawrence community prepared to view the January 24, 1925 solar eclipse.

Photo: Clipping from Lawrentian, Volume XLII, Number 12, January 15, 1925.

This list of "Rules of Lawrence University" dated 1881 offers a look at what life was like for early Lawrence Students.

Photo: Rules of Lawrence University, 1881, ARC2013-178.

Today on the first floor of the library at 4:30 pm, Diana Van Gilder '25 will be giving a talk about her research for her exhibit “A Way In Which You Can Show Your Patriotism”: Grace Gates as a Lawrence Student During World War I" which she created using materials from the Lawrence University Archives.

Mary Cleggett (later Vanderhoop) was, to the best of our knowledge, the first Black student to graduate from Lawrence University. When she graduated in 1876, she delivered an address during commencement reported on in the student newspaper, the Collegian shown in the second image.

Following her time at Lawrence, she took a position teaching in Arkansas , where she would meet her husband, Edwin Devries Vanderhoop, whose mother was a member of the Wampanoag (Gay Head) Tribe. Vanderhoop became active in the Wampanoag community, publishing a series of articles “Gay Head Indians: Their History and Traditions.”

Images:
1.Photograph of Mary Cleggett Vanderhoop, Mary Cleggett Vanderhoop. “The Gay Head Indians: Their History and Traditions.” The Evening Standard, June 25, 1910.
2. Clippings from the Lawrence Collegian, Volume 9, Number 9, July 1876.

Did you know that class colors are a tradition from Milwaukee-Downer College (which Lawrence merged with in 1964)? Browse these images to see examples of each of the class colors in the University Archives' Milwaukee-Downer College Artifact Collection.

Images:
1. 1954 red banner, 1954, MDC-OBJ-072.
2. Green blazer 6, 1943, MDC-OBJ-110.
3. Yellow class plant, circa 1956-1960, MDC-OBJ-068.
4. Purple class corsage, circa 1914-1964, MDC-OBJ-035.

On this day, Reverend Ye Yun-Ho a minister and artist from Seoul, arrived at the Lawrence Campus in 1953, after waiting 3 and a half years after his initial enrollment date due to wartime delays.

Image: Ye Yun-Ho drawing at desk, circa 1955, ARC2024-001.

On this day in Lawrence history on October 26, 1911, President William Howard Taft came to Lawrence and addressed a crowd on the steps of Main Hall.

Photo: President William Howard Taft, 10-26-1911, ARC2022-127.

Two library related events occurred on this day in Lawrence history.

49 years ago, on October 19, 1974, a ceremony was held for the laying of the cornerstone of the Seeley G. Mudd Library.

117 years ago, on October 19, 1906, the Carnegie Library was dedicated.

Photos:
1. Seeley G. Mudd Library Postcard, circa 1975-1980, ARC2013-092.
2. Carnegie Library, circa 1906-1940, ARC2009-143.

As part of Blue & White Homecoming weekend, the University Archives will be holding an open house on the first floor of the Seeley G. Mudd library tomorrow October 14 from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. Stop by to peruse materials and talk Lawrence history.

Image: Campus in fall, circa 1970, ARC2014-056.

Today is Day! If you have any questions about the Lawrence University Archives or archives in general, please comment below. I will be answering throughout the day.
-Claire, University Archivist

Ormsby Hall was constructed in 1889 with the purpose of serving as an all-women’s dorm. It was the first residence hall to be built on Lawrence’s campus.

Photo: Students in Ormsby room circa 1910. ARC2013-045.

Main Hall, our campus's oldest extant building, was the second building constructed by Lawrence University. Lawrence's first building, known as the "Academy Building" was built to house the pre-collegiate preparatory department in 1849 and was destroyed by fire in 1857.

Photo: Lawrence University Academy building, 1849, ARC2007-036

Elizabeth Richardson graduated from Milwaukee-Downer College in 1940 and volunteered to join the Red Cross in 1944. She lost her life in 1945 during a plane crash on a flight to Paris.

While at Milwaukee-Downer, Richardson worked on campus publications and created Beulah, who satirized life as a Milwaukee-Downer student. Richardson's papers can be viewed in the University Archives (selections of the papers are also available online).

Photos: 1: Elizabeth Richardson, circa 1940, ARC2018-044. 2: Beulah cartoon, 1936-1940, ARC2015-186.

Fredrica Kla Bada Brown was a student from Liberia who graduated from Lawrence in 1917. Following her graduation from Lawrence, she went on to become Dean of Women at Wiley University (now Wiley College) and helped found the Phyllis Wheatley branch of the Y.W.C.A in Indianapolis.

Photo: Fredrica Kla Bada Brown, 1918 Ariel.

As a part of Reunion festivities the Seeley G. Mudd Library will be holding an open house from 1:30 to 3:30 pm on Saturday June 17th. The Archives will have materials from the history of Lawrence & Milwaukee-Downer available to peruse on the first floor of the library. Hope to see you there!

Congratulations to the class of 2023!

Photo: Two graduates gaze at Main Hall, 1994, ARC2022-023.

Stop by the Milwaukee-Downer room in the library to see a new exhibit on Milwaukee-Downer College curated by student archives assistant Miranda Lile.

In 1997, Maya Angelou delivered the Honors Convocation address to a crowded Memorial Chapel. She was awarded an honorary degree by Lawrence in 1976.

Photo: Maya Angelou Convocation, May 29, 1997, ARC2016-181.

Krishnabai Tulaskar was an international student from India who graduated from Lawrence in 1914. As a student, she published several articles advocating for the education of women. Following her graduation at Lawrence, she received her master's degree from the University of Chicago and later returned to India, where she was head of a girl's school.

Photo: Krishnabai Tulaskar, c. 1911-1914, ARC2016-087.

May Day was celebrated at Lawrence from 1906 to 1966 (and revived for one year in 2007). Festivities typically included the crowning of one senior woman as May Queen and dancing around a maypole.

Photo: May Day maypole dance, 1912, ARC2012-065.

Have you seen the boat hanging in the library? The rowing shell,"Katie," was used at Milwaukee-Downer College, where crew was a popular sport.

In 2013, nearly 50 years after the consolidation of Milwaukee-Downer College & Lawrence College, "Katie," was recovered & installed in the library.

Photo: Milwaukee-Downer College class of 1961 crew team in "Katie" rowing shell, 1958, ARC2013-132.

Photo: Professor of vocal music Harry Heard's dog, Duke, circa 1900, ARC2013-100.

The note underneath the photograph points out that the "Lawrence College Library now stands on the spot of the tree."

At the time this photograph was taken, the library was located in Main Hall.

Photo: Athena Society, Meeting Minutes, April 13, 1865, LU-RG06-017.

The Athena Society (founded in 1858) was a literary society for women attending Lawrence.

Literary societies were an important part of the social lives of many early Lawrence students.

Did you know Lawrence once had an observatory?

Photo: Underwood Observatory aerial view, circa 1940-1957, ARC2009-083.

What would you try from this 1938 Ormsby Hall Menu?

Photo: Ormsby Hall menu, March 14, 1938, ARC2018-024.