Harmon
Hall was opened in 1955 and enlarged in 1958 at a total cost of
$1,200,000. Since that time, it has served as the focal point for
student life and activities. The campus cafeteria, bookstore, post
office, and The Mill (snack bar) are located on the first two floors.
The Foreign Student Office, Student Activities, Yearbook Office,
Band offices and rehearsal rooms, a game room, and a lounge are
located on the top floor. This floor originally housed the departments
of English, History, and Modern Languages until they were moved
to Webb Hall in 1960.
Major General Ernest N. Harmon attended Norwich University for one year before accepting an appointment at the United States Military Academy and graduating from there in 1917. He fought in World War I and returned to Norwich in 1927, serving as Assistant Professor of Military Science and Tactics and Commandant until 1931. He was also active in World War II. His significant achievements included command of the 1st and 2nd Armored Divisions, serving as Military Governor of a zone populated by six million people, and organizing the United States Constabulary in Germany and functioning as is first Commanding Officer after the war.
He
was inaugurated as President of Norwich University in 1950 and remained
in that capacity till 1965. Norwich expanded greatly during his
tenure, with the NU Campus Maps growing in number from less than
600 to 1200. The various constructions projects completed during
this time included Tompkins, Ransom, Cabot, Harmon, Goodyear, Patterson,
Webb, Wilson, Gerard, and Jackman Halls, Goodyear Indoor Pool, Adams
Tower, the South and Sabine Field Gateways, and the Alden Partridge
Statue.
Division
of Architecture & Art
Chaplin Hall was originally constructed as Carnegie Hall in 1907. The funds for construction were provided by Andrew Carnegie. The top two floors of this building housed a library while the bottom two were occupied by the fledgling Electrical Engineering Department. The original building was sixty by sixty-five feet. When the Electrical Engineering Program was moved to Partridge Hall in 1941, the entire building was converted to a library.
The
building was renovated completely in 1952, with the majority of
the money for this undertaking donated by Henry P. Chaplin. The
following year, the building was rededicated as the Henry Prescott
Chaplin Memorial Library. In 1961, a new addition to the west end
of the library nearly doubled the size of the Library. In 1993,
with the construction of Kreitzberg Library and the move of all
undergraduate programs to the Northfield campus, the building was
converted to accommodate the Division of Architecture & Art.
Henry P. Chaplin was a graduate of Brown University and served in the Motor Transport Corps during World War I. He was later president of the Cone Automatic Machine Company of Windsor, Vermont. He remained a trustee of Norwich University from 1952 until his death in 1961.
Woodbury Hall is the residence of the President of Norwich University. The building is named in memory of Carl Vose Woodbury, Norwich University faculty member from 1900-1948 who served as Professor of Physics and Department Head from 1927-1948. Professor Woodbury was respected and loved by all as the "Grand Old Man of Norwich."
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Source: Guinn, Robert Darius, The History of Norwich University, 1912-1965.