Leonard Hall (Shaw University)

Infobox building
building_name = Leonard Hall
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caption = Leonard Hall in 2008
former_names = Leonard Medical Center
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architectural_style = Romanesque Revival
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location = Shaw University, Raleigh, North Carolina
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Leonard Hall is a historic educational building located on the campus of Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina. Built in 1881 and originally named Leonard Medical Center (then Leonard Medical School), Leonard Hall was established when medical schools were professionalizing. It was the first medical school for African-Americans in the United States to offer a four-year curriculum, as well as the first four-year medical school in North Carolina.

The building was named after Judson Wade Leonard, the brother-in-law of Shaw's founder Henry Martin Tupper. Classes began in 1882 and the annual tuition was $60, a substantial sum at the time.cite web| last=| first=| title="Leonard Hall" | work=| publisher=National Park Service | date=| url=http://www.nps.gov/history/NR/travel/raleigh/Leo.htm| accessdate=2008-03-24] cite web| last= Blackburn Jr.| first= Charles| title="Making History" | work=| publisher="Our State" | date= September 2006| url=http://www.shawu.edu/assets/Making_History.pdf| accessdate=2008-03-24] It is a contributing part of the East Raleigh-South Park Historic District, listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. In 1994 it was designated a North Carolina Historic Landmark.

Shaw University is the oldest historically black college in the South and often called the "mother of African-American colleges in North Carolina", because its alumni founded other colleges.cite web| last=| first=| title="About Shaw University" | work=| publisher=Shaw University | date=| url=http://www.shawuniversity.edu/asu.htm| accessdate=2008-03-24] On March 31, 1886, it awarded the college's first medical degrees to six men. Leonard Medical Center was one of fourteen medical schools founded in the late 19th century for the education of African-Americans.cite web| last= Blackburn Jr.| first= Charles| title="Making History" | work=| publisher="Our State" | date= September 2006| url=http://www.shawu.edu/assets/Making_History.pdf| accessdate=2008-03-24] Describing the history of the building, then-President Talbert O. Shaw said, "For Shaw University and the black community, it stands out as one of the bastions of education for our people. We are very proud of it."cite web| last=Wallace | first=Kamal | title="Shaw University Re-opens Historical Landmark" | work=| publisher="wral.com" | date=2000-10-16| url=http://wral.com/news/local/story/153749/| accessdate=2008-03-24]

History

The university was founded by American Baptists in 1865 to educate freedmen following the Civil War. Donations from people such as Judson Wade Leonard and Jacob Estey assisted in developing the college's growing campus. Estey donated money for construction of Estey Hall, first in the nation built for the education of African-American women.cite web| last= | first= | title="History" | work=| publisher=Shaw University | date= | url=http://www.shawuniversity.edu/Archives/history.htm| accessdate=2008-03-24] cite web| last=| first=| title="Estey Hall" | work=| publisher=National Park Service | date=| url=http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/raleigh/est.htm| accessdate=2008-03-24]

Leonard Hall held classrooms. A 34-bed medical dormitory and a 25-bed hospital were constructed next to it, the latter in 1910. The medical school complex was used to train Christian physicians serving African Americans. Prominent faculty members at the medical school included Kemp B. Battle, Jr., son of President Kemp P. Battle of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and Wisconsin I. Royster, great-uncle of "Wall Street Journal" editor Vermont C. Royster.cite web| last= Blackburn Jr.| first= Charles| title="Making History" | work=| publisher="Our State" | date= September 2006| url=http://www.shawu.edu/assets/Making_History.pdf| accessdate=2008-03-24]

Leonard Hall served as a medical school until 1918, when financial problems arose from rising costs associated with implementing recommendations of the Flexner Report on Medical Education for curriculum, research and medical equipment.cite web| last=| first=| title="Black History Month, A Medical Perspective" | work=| publisher=Duke University Medical Center Library | date=| url=http://www.mclibrary.duke.edu/hom/exhibits/blkhist| accessdate=2008-03-25] During its 36-year history, the school graduated nearly 400 physicians, most of whom provided critical services to underserved populations throughout the South.cite web| last=| first=| title="State marks Shaw's medical school" | work=| publisher="The News & Observer" | date=2006-10-12| url=http://www.newsobserver.com/928/story/497552.html| accessdate=2008-03-24] After the medical school closed, Leonard Hall continued to serve as a classroom building until 1986 when a fire destroyed the roof.

In 2000 a $3.6 million grant from the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Fund and corporate donations resulted in the building's restoration. The historic facility is now used for classes and administrative offices.cite web| last=Wallace | first=Kamal | title="Shaw University Re-opens Historical Landmark" | work=| publisher="wral.com" | date=2000-10-16| url=http://wral.com/news/local/story/153749/| accessdate=2008-03-24] In 2006 the North Carolina Highway Historical Marker Program installed a plaque to mark the location of Leonard Hall.cite web| last=| first=| title="State marks Shaw's medical school" | work=| publisher="The News & Observer" | date=2006-10-12| url=http://www.newsobserver.com/928/story/497552.html| accessdate=2008-03-24]

Architecture

The twin-turreted brick building is of the Romanesque Revival style. The two corner towers feature arched bay windows and a rear addition with a matching corbelled cornice was later added to the building. The architect of Leonard Hall is unknown, but many believe it could be Gaston A. Edward, a Shaw faculty member and designer in 1910 of the Leonard Hospital.cite web| last=| first=| title="Leonard Hall" | work=| publisher=National Park Service | date=| url=http://www.nps.gov/history/NR/travel/raleigh/Leo.htm| accessdate=2008-03-24] To save on construction costs, Shaw students made the bricks for the building.cite web| last= Blackburn Jr.| first= Charles| title="Making History" | work=| publisher="Our State" | date= September 2006| url=http://www.shawu.edu/assets/Making_History.pdf| accessdate=2008-03-24]

Alumni

Nearly every member of the first graduating class of 1886 went on to have a notable career and was deeply involved in civic life. M.T. Pope became a prominent physician in Raleigh and was also involved in local politics of the capital. During the time of racial segregation imposed disfranchisement, Pope was one of only seven African-American men in the city of Raleigh who managed to register to vote. He went on to run for mayor of Raleigh in 1919 on a non-partisan ticket with Calvin E. Lightner. His home is now a registered landmark and museum.

in Charlotte is named after him.

Class valedictorian Lawson Andrew Scruggs founded the Old North State Medical Society, the nation's oldest association of black physicians. He also founded a tuberculosis sanatorium in Southern Pines that treated many people from Raleigh.

Aaron McDuffie Moore, graduate of the 1888 class, became the first African-American physician in Durham. He co-founded the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company, the largest and oldest black-owned business in the United States. Moore convinced philanthropist Washington Duke to build a hospital instead of a monument as a better way to honor black troops who fought for the Confederate Army during the Civil War.cite web| last= Blackburn Jr.| first= Charles| title="Making History" | work=| publisher="Our State" | date= September 2006| url=http://www.shawu.edu/assets/Making_History.pdf| accessdate=2008-03-24] cite web| last= | first= | title="Founders and Early Builder" | work=| publisher=North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company | date= | url=http://www.ncmutuallife.com/| accessdate=2008-03-24]

References

External links

* [http://www.shawuniversity.edu/main.htm Shaw University]