UNI's Old Main Burns: Iowa Time Machine July 22, 1965

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On July 22, 1965, Old Main on the University of Northern Iowa campus burned down. The building served as home to the Soldiers’ Orphans’ Home and housed the first classes taught at UNI (then Iowa State Normal School).

Annie Whittenmeyer of Keokuk played a pivotal role in establishing a place for children orphaned by the American Civil War. Whittenmeyer, who served as a nurse in the war, remembered a wounded and dying man who asked "Oh, what will become of my children?" She assured the men that their children would be cared for. On October 7, 1863, a meeting was held in Muscatine, IA, to determine how to support and educate the Iowa children orphaned by the war.

The Soldiers' Orphans Home was temporarily located in a three-story former hotel at the corner of Fifth and Main in Cedar Falls. Arthur Morrison served as the first superintendent, and by the end of 1865, 96 children were living at the Home. The enrollment grew rapidly during the following year, and the need for a larger building became apparent. Local citizens provided a 40-acre tract of land southwest of town, while the state appropriated $25,000 for construction. The new Iowa Soldiers' Orphans Home building officially opened in 1869.

By 1875, as most of the residents grew into adulthood, officials decided to close the institution. In the following year, it became the first classroom, administration, and residence building of the new Iowa State Normal School, and came to be known as "Central Hall." It was located southwest of the Auditorium Building until the building was destroyed by fire in 1965. #IowaOTD #IowaHistoryDaily #IowaHistoryCalendar