Housing History
The University of Georgia has housed students on campus since 1806. The first building on campus, Old College, which was modeled after Connecticut Hall at Yale University, served as a residence hall and classroom area for UGA's very first students. This was 21 years after the University of Georgia was founded.
Josiah Meigs, UGA's first president, was quoted as saying that there were no finer accommodations for students in the land than at the University of Georgia (Augusta Chronicle). We hold ourselves to the expectations of our campus founding fathers to this day.
University Housing Timeline
1806 Old College, the first permanent structure on campus opens with rent set at $1 per quarter
1823 New College opens as a mix of “dormitory, library, and classroom building”
1830 New College burns to the ground, the first building fire in the City of Athens. It is rebuilt two years later
1850s First campus live-on requirement is instituted by UGA’s President
1860 Room and board starts at $114 per year
1863 The university closes because of the Civil War. Campus buildings are utilized for Confederate Soldiers,
Union prisoners and civilian refugees
1866 University of Georgia reopens
1893 Old College is deteriorated so badly students are allowed to live rent free
1901 Candler Hall opens as a residence hall and houses male student until 1952
1907 Lumpkin House is acquired and used to house students until 1932
1908 Old College narrowly avoids scheduled demolition when $10,000 is raised for refurbishment
1920 Soule Hall opens to become the first residence hall for women on campus
1921 Milledge Hall opens
1923 Milledge Annex, now known as Payne Hall, opens
1924 Camp Wilkins is constructed by Forestry Students. A 30’x12’ cabin stood near the site of
Lake Herrick until 1956
1925 Memorial Hall opens after nearly 15 years of intermittent construction to house male students,
the athletic department, meeting and event space, and dining.
1937 Mary Lyndon Hall is built as a “homey” 18th century style home to accommodate female students
1939 Rutherford Hall opens as the third all female residence hall. It is torn down in 2012
WWII UGA houses 2,200 naval officers and enlisted men participating in a pre-flight training program, with
numerous buildings on campus converted to accommodate their housing, training, and administrative
needs. Old college is permanently converted from residential space to office space
1942 Fain, Dudley, and Griggs Halls open to male Veterinary and Agriculture students
1946 Boom Town- A mix of trailers and prefabricated bungalows are set up on Ag Hill to accommodate the
tremendous increase in enrollment
1953 Myers Hall opens marking the full integration of women on the UGA campus
1953 Reed Hall opens
1957 Morris hall opens to graduate and law students
1961 Boggs, Church, Hill, Lipscomb, Mell and Tucker Halls open
1961 Charlayne Hunter becomes the first African-American student to live on campus
1963 University Housing officially begins operations
Creswell Hall opens UGA’s first high-rise residence hall
1964 University Village construction begins and buildings open incrementally
1966 Brumby Hall opens
1967 Russell Hall opens
1967 McWhorter Hall opens. It is torn down in 2005 and a new residence hall now bares its name
1968 Curfew for women is abolished
1973 Rogers Road apartment complex opens
Morris Hall serves as a test site for 24-hour visitation
1979 Oglethorpe House, Oglethorpe dining commons, and pool is acquired by University Housing
1986 Security card access system is installed in residence halls
1994 Brandon Oaks apartment complex is acquired by University Housing
2000 Smoking banned in residence halls
2004 East Campus Village (Busbee, New McWhorter, Rooker, and Vandiver) opens
2010 Building 1516 opens as the first LEED- Certified Gold residence hall on campus
2013 New Rutherford hall opens