Historic Mount Allison: Ladies' College buildings (1854-1971)

At a joint meeting of the Methodist districts of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in 1847, a resolution passed in favour of establishing an academy for the education of young girls and women. The decision resulted in the establishment of the female branch of the Mount Allison Wesleyan Academy (later known as the Mount Allison Ladies' College and School for Girls).

Initially called the White House, this wooden structure opened on August 17, 1854. It was three storeys tall, 160 feet long, had two chimneys and eleven windows across the front stories, and contained accommodations and classrooms for female students. Enrolment rose so quickly that it became "uncomfortably crowded" within a few years. [1] A north wing was added in 1860, providing space for an additional 40 boarders, followed by a mansard roof, cupola, and south wing in 1875, and the Conservatory of Music built onto the south end in 1890. Steam heat was added in 1872 and electric lighting was also installed in 1890. The building was painted white for most of its existence (except for 1896, when it was painted brown), hence the name The White House. As late as 1862, there was a fence running across the brow of the hill. It was replaced by a circular spruce hedge that was likely planted in the 1870s and was cut down in the early 1900s. A small gymnasium was built next to the building in 1855. It was moved to the rear in 1892 and repurposed as a dining hall.

It is reported in the May 1921 issue of the Argosy that there was a large increase in female students applying for residence in 1920, too many to accommodate in the White House.  As a result, the university leased the Ford Hotel in 1920 to house the fifty-two female University students. It became known as Allison Hall. Four years later, it also became too small and the women were moved to Brunswick House, which then took the name Allison Hall. In 1929, the university purchased this building for Academy students and renamed it Allison Lodge.

When the School for Girls was established in 1936, students were housed in Hart Hall while the university women remained in the former Ladies’ College buildings. At this point, the White House came to be known as Allison Hall. When the School for Girls closed in 1946, the complex of former Ladies’ College buildings became known as the University Girls’ Residence (or UGR for short).

The Mount Allison Record published an update on the renovations, noting that

The common rooms on the first floor, as well as the L.C. class rooms, have been turned into living quarters. What were formerly called the reception rooms in the U.G.R. are now common rooms and the former reception rooms of the L.C. became the formal reception rooms of the U.G.R. Dean Falconer now has her apartment near the Hart Hall door which becomes the main entrance although 'dates' will still be handled by the centre door. Many rooms in the building were also redecorated during the summer months to take on a more enjoyable atmosphere for the beginning of the new term. [2]

Some administrative offices and the bookstore were also located there. The Massey-Treble School of Home Economics had its lecture rooms and labs at the rear of the ground floor.

With the opening of Windsor Hall in 1963, portions of the UGR were no longer needed to accommodate students, so it was renovated to house academic departments, three classrooms, and a lab. Hart Hall and Allison Hall were renovated again in 1967-1968 to accommodate more academic departments, a student centre, and a bookstore.

Although it had been repurposed, the building was in a state of disrepair. The roof leaked, forcing the University administration to cut off the electricity on the top two floors of the building and leaving them unused. The Chaplain's office and the History Department shared the second floor while the offices of the Mount Allison Record and The Argosy, the Development Office, the Education Department, and the University Centre (consisting of canteen facilities, a TV room, and a large common lounge) occupied the first floor. 

The whole complex was demolished in the summer of 1971.

Notes

[1] Letter from John Allison to Leonard Tilley, December 26, 1860. Provincial Archives of New Brunswick, RG4, RS24/861/re/I. Quoted in Leroux and Holownia's A Vision in Wood and Stone.

[2] Mount Allison Record, Fall 1946, p. 28.