Academic Hall was the original main building of the University of Missouri. It was dedicated in 1843 and destroyed by fire in 1892.

Venue: Academic Hall
Town: Missouri, US

Academic Hall was the original main building of the University of Missouri. It was dedicated in 1843 and destroyed by fire in 1892. Academic Hall's six Ionic columns, today known as The Columns, stand on Francis Quadrangle as the most recognizable symbol of the University of Missouri. Academic Hall was built between 1840 and 1843 from plans drawn by Stephen Hills, designer of the first Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City (which only lasted from 1837 until burning in 1840). Academic Hall was dedicated in 1843. It consisted of a domed central section of three stories, with two wings that were added in 1885, and housed both educational and administrative facilities. Brick for the building was fired on campus and limestone for the Columns was obtained from the nearby Hinkson Creek Valley and was hauled to the building by ox-drawn carts. The role of the University of Missouri in the American military began in 1862, during the American Civil War. Missouri was a border state, and Columbia was a town that had many citizens of southern ancestry, so the university area fell under the eye of the federal government. During the war, a number of different Federal regiments were stationed in Columbia and billeted in University buildings. Academic Hall was used to house soldiers, and Union troops interned Confederate prisoners in the main library on the third floor of Academic Hall. Classes were suspended for 10 months because of the troop occupation and because of loss of staff due to the conflict. During the Union occupation of the library, 467 volumes were taken to construct fires. The Union troops caused other destruction on campus as well, and the board of curators, with Congressman James S. Rollins as their representative, sued for damages. The U.S. government settled the case in 1915, the award was used to build the Memorial Gateway. On Saturday evening January 9, 1892, Academic Hall fell victim to a disastrous fire, rumored to have been caused by the first electric lig