Campus ToursThe girls’ dormitory, Morse Hall, began to house residents on March 31st, 1924. Its namesake, Mrs. Abigail Morse, served as a teacher for the Normal School. This building has received several new additions in October 1952, March 1961, and 1964. Today Emporia State’s Morse Hall is reserved for upperclassmen.

The “lake” on C of E’s campus, Lake Mergendahl, was constructed to provide specimens for Professor Schaffner’s biology classes. The pond was dug in the spring of 1912. It became more noted for the annual Tug-of-War matches staged at the beginning of each school year. This area is now located on the C of E walk, immediately west of the Teachers Hall of Fame.

C of E’s John B. Anderson Memorial Library’s construction began in 1897, and was fully completed in 1902. It was the first Carnegie Library west of the Mississippi and the very first on a college campus. It became the Anderson Art Center after the opening of the Laughlin-Lewis Library in 1967. The building still stands today, and is on the National Registry of Historic Places.

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The student dormitories of College of Emporia, Dunlap Hall and Emporia Hall, were built in the 1920’s. Emporia Hall housed the female students while Dunlap Hall was reserved for the males. Emporia and Dunlap Halls were demolished in the early 1990’s and replaced by green lawn and parking East of Sterling House.

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This bell was located in the College of Emporia’s Stuart Hall. The inscription on the bell reads, “Presented by Major Calvin Hood to the College of Emporia September 1st. A.D. 1886. Laus Deo.” During the 1915 fire, the bell fell, and almost hit President Culbertson and Dean Schaffner, who were retrieving college records on the ground floor when it fell. After the fire, the bell was mounted and placed between Anderson Memorial Library and the new administration building. It is now located in an attractive plaza just West of the Emporia Public Library.

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The Bulletin, 1951 January 12

Emporia State University Special Collections and Archives, 2016

Background: Walter M. Andersen Collection, undated.

ESU’s Victory Tower was completed between 1937 and 1938. The bell in this tower was saved from the second building, which was razed in 1917/1918. The bell was to be rung for victories, but the 1937 football team lost its first two games, earning it the nickname Silent Joe. In February of 2013 a campaign to raise $45 million in 5-7 years was established with the slogan “Silent No More” in which the bell is rung for every donation.

The Kellogg Library opened on KSN’s campus in 1903. This building was located in the southwest corner of campus. It was named in honor of the first president of KSN, Lyman B. Kellogg. In 1931, the library was so full of books that one corner of the first floor was in such such bad condition that it was condemned, causing steel beams to be placed under the floor. It was demolished in 1953 after the opening of the William Allen White Library.

Construction on Lake Wooster began in 1917-1918. The bridge was constructed in 1928. The lake is 400 feet long and 300 feet wide, reaching 13 feet at its deepest. It can still be found on the ESU campus.

▲ Walter M. Andersen Collection, circa 1920

Walter M. Andersen Collection, 1925

Walter M. Andersen Collection, 1986

Walter M.Andersen Collection, 1983

Walter M. Andersen Collection, 1910

Walter M. Andersen Collection, 1925

Walter M. Andersen Collection, undated

Walter M. Andersen Collection, 1928