Knowles Hall I

With a cylindrical bell tower jutting out of the front, Knowles Hall was constructed in 1886, 10 days ahead of Pinehurst. As the first major structure on campus, Knowles Hall contained the school prayer hall, all the recitation rooms, the business School and all collections that belonged to the Department of Natural Sciences.

Early exterior shot (those posts are from first fence around campus)

Knowles Hall in 1888

The Chapel Found Inside the Knowles Hall I

Knowles Hall would have been the oldest building erected on the campus had it not burned to the ground on December 2, 1909. The fire, first noticed at 2 am from an unknown cause, completely destroyed the building by the morning. Though a new water supply system installed a year prior helped save Pinehurst situated only 60 feet away, the loss of Knowles Hall was considered a grave blow to the young campus, because so many activities took place in the building. After the fire, there was no chapel at which students could pray at, no classrooms in physics, chemistry and biology and no school bell, which at that time was used to summon teachers and students to classes.

Knowles Hall while on fire at 2 A.M. December 2, 1909

All that remained was the chimney.