HISTORY The columns that once supported Academic Hall, the first building constructed on campus, now stand in the middle of the quad as the traditional symbol of the University of Missouri. On January 9, 1892, Academic Hall burned and the six columns remained. In August of 1893, the Board of Curators made a decision to remove the Columns on suspicion of their safety, but that decision was later overturned by local support when the Columns passed inspection. Today, the Columns serve as an icon of the University of Missouri, standing for Mizzou's rich history that this collection seeks to reveal. The Columns sit on Francis Quadrangle, letting students relax between classes.
Thanks to the University of Missouri archives, we were also able to find a bulletin from 1949, detailing the history of the Columns. Feel free to flip through the text to get an even greater picture of Mizzou's development!
References:"Academic Hall." MU in Brick and Mortar. 2006. Accessed February 20, 2017. http://muarchives.missouri.edu/historic/buildings/AcademicHall/.
"Francis Quadrangle & Columns." MU in Brick and Mortar. 2006. Accessed February 20, 2017. http://muarchives.missouri.edu/historic/buildings/Quad/.
"History of the University of Missouri". University of Missouri Office of Web Communications. Accessed February 22, 2017. http://missouri.edu/about/history/history-mu.php.
