Eastern Home Page



 

spa

Eastern History :: Building Timeline

April 11, 1911 : Several buildings were completed for the Oklahoma School Of Mines. The group included the Ore Dressing and Metallurgy Building (Mitchell), Science Hall, one story was completed of a proposed 4-story building to be finished at a later date, a home for the president (which later burned) and two frame buildings.

  • Mountaineer, August 26, 1958/Front
  • Mountaineer, May 2, 1967/Pg. 3

May 11, 1928 : Johnston Hall formally dedicated. The building was named in honor of Governor Henry Johnston. Governor Johnston helped to get the financing for the construction of this building.

  •  Various newspaper reports

September 1937 : Location chosen for a new shop building for industrial trades classes. The shop building was one story and 60 feet x 125 feet. The building was used as a temporary boys’ dorm until Chickasaw Hall was built, then was converted and used as a building for offering courses in trade and industries.

  •  Mountaineer, September 30, 1937/ Front Page

Spring 1938 : Shop Building/Boys’ Dorm completed and being used.

  • Mountaineer, March 9, 1938/Front Page

March 7, 1940 : Groundbreaking ceremony held for Choctaw Hall.

September 4, 1941 : Chickasaw Hall was completed and in use. This dormitory was erected as the final WPA project on campus. Over the years it has housed workers of the NYA (National Youth Administration), WWII army clerical school personnel, veterans who studied under the GI Bill, athletes, and coeds.

  • Mountaineer, September 22, 1964/Pg. 5

1949 - 1950 : Agriculture And Home Life Building was built and ready for use. This building would later become known as Gunning Hall.

  • Eastern Report, Vol. 1, No. 2 (December 1949)/ Pg. 4
  • Eastern Report, Vol. 1, No. 3 (January 1950)/ Pg. 1

Early 1950’s : Construction completed on the C. C. Dunlap Field House. The building was named in honor of C. C. Dunlap, one time President of Eastern Oklahoma State College.

  • Mountaineer, December 14, 1962/Pg. 3

September 1951 : Shop Building was destroyed by fire.

  • Mountaineer, March 1953/Pg. 3

March 1953 : Eastern was given financial authorization to build a new industrial arts building. This building was built on the same site as the old Shop Building which burned in 1951. This new building would later become known as Baker Hall.

  • Mountaineer, March 1953/Pg. 3

April 1953 : Baptist Student Center opens its doors for the first time. The Center was located one block east of the college, on Highway 270. A five-room house was remodeled and used as the first building.

  • Mountaineer, March 1953/Pg. 5

September 1954 : The new Industrial Education building (Baker) was complete and ready for use.

  • Mountaineer, August 1953/Front
  • Mountaineer, September 1954/Front

1956 : Tennis Courts located northwest of Choctaw Hall finally completed. There were two tennis courts with adequate lighting facilities for night games. There were two 200 foot chain wire fences put up at each end of the courts. These courts became what is now the big parking area behind Choctaw Hall.

  • Mountaineer, November 28, 1955/Pg. 3

November 7, 1957 : The formal dedication of the Raymond Gary Library/Administration  Building as well as the E. T. Dunlap Student Union. The Library/Administration building was named in honor of Governor Raymond Gary who helped the college in its quest for the facility. The Student Union was named in honor of E. T. Dunlap, Eastern A & M President, under whose guidance it was planned and constructed.

  • Mountaineer, October 27, 1955/Front
  • Mountaineer, October 22, 1957/Front

September 23, 1958 :  Student Infirmary was completed and open for student use. The infirmary was staffed by a full-time nurse who provided first aid and treatment of minor physical ailments for all students. The college also employed a part-time physician for consultations and treatment of students.

  • Mountaineer, September 23, 1958/Pg. 2

January 13, 1959 : Property was purchased from William Harl as a building site for the Wesley Foundation. The property was located east of Eastern’s campus.

  • Mountaineer, January 13, 1959/Front

February 21, 1961 :  A ground breaking ceremony was held for the Wesley Foundation. This was to be a new student center for Methodist students. The center will be a brick structure containing a chapel, recreation room, kitchen, study, library and lounge.

  • Mountaineer, February 21, 1961/Front

December 10, 1961 : Formal dedication for the Wesley Foundation.

  • Mountaineer, December 1, 1961/Pg. 5

May 5, 1961 :  The formal dedication for Miller Hall and 24 apartments. The dormitory was named for Florence Graves Miller in honor of her years of teaching service at Eastern.

  • Mountaineer, May 5, 1961/Front

December 14, 1962 : Renovation is completed on the Classroom Building and was renamed Mitchell Hall in honor of R. B. Mitchell, long time instructor and Dean of the college. The renovation included enlargement of the auditorium stage, the addition of makeup and dressing rooms and new curtains and lighting system. The building also received new electrical and heating systems, new concrete floors covered with vinyl asbestos tile, lower ceilings, steel window frames, modern fluorescent lighting, aluminum glass entrances and a general renovation of the outside. This is the third renovation for the Classroom Building. It was previously renovated in 1919 and 1937.

  • Mountaineer, September 7, 1962/Front
  • Mountaineer, November 2, 1962/Pg. 2
  • Mountaineer, December 14, 1962/Pg. 3

January 3, 1963 : The newly constructed Fine Arts Building (Pratt) is open to students.

  • Mountaineer, January 11, 1963/Front

August 1963 : Extension of the Industrial Education Building (Baker) is completed. The extension was added on the north side of the original building. The extension added 48 feet in width and 142 feet in length.

  • Mountaineer, April 20, 1962/Pg. 2
  • Mountaineer, September 3, 1963/Pg. 5

September 3, 1963 : The new football stadium was completed. The new stadium had seating for 600, press box – 8 x 25, two new goal posts, and the concession stand. The old press box and concession stand were torn down. The old stadium (stone bleachers) was cleaned up and repaired. A chain-link fence connected the old stadium to the new stadium.

  • Mountaineer, September 3, 1963/Pg. 4

November 2, 1963 :  The football field was officially named the Weissinger Field in honor of Harold “Red” Weissinger. Harold was a former football coach at Eastern Oklahoma A& M College.

  • Mountaineer, October 22, 1963/Pg. 5 - *2 photos

February 15, 1964 : Eastern A&M’s Agriculture-Home Life building was renamed Gunning Hall in honor of I. C. Gunning, long-time Dean and instructor at Eastern.

  • Mountaineer , February 18, 1964/Front

Summer 1964 : A new warehouse and supply office for the physical plant was constructed to meet the needs of the growing campus. It was a steel and concrete structure that would be used to store supplies and building materials.

  • Mountaineer, September 1, 1964/Pg. 6

January 26, 1965 : The Goddard Building was completed and ready for use. Goddard Building was named in honor of the Goddard Foundation which gave the financial grant that made the construction possible. The building was 60x72 and included a show ring-stage area, auditorium and will seat 350.   In the future an addition would be built and it would eventually be named after Cleo Collins, Southeast District Supervisor for vocational agriculture from the state department and taught agriculture at Wilburton High School for 11 years. The whole area would be known as the Agriculture complex.

  • Mountaineer, January 26, 1965/Front
  • Statesman, October 21, 1980/Pg. 4
  • E-mail sent to Mary Edith Butler by Leland Walker on June 27, 2006

August 24, 1965 : East wing of Miller Hall completed. The addition of this wing doubles the capacity of the dorm to 256 student.

  • Mountaineer, August 24, 1965/Pg. 6

September 21, 1965 : “Green House” was torn down. The “Green House” was located behind Miller Hall. It had been an Eastern landmark since 1928. The “Green House” had been used for a dormitory, science laboratory, industrial education building, ROTC, rifle range, apartment for married students, and finally as a storage building.

Summer 1967 : Dr. Baker and his family moved into the newly constructed President’s House. This house was built on up the hill from the two story white house which formerly housed the presidents and their families. The new house is a 8 room ranch style house.

  • Statesman, September 5, 1967/Pg. 7 – Photo caption

September 5, 1967 : The new boys dormitory (Salmon Hall) was completed and being used.

  • Statesman, September 5, 1967/Pg. 3

Fall Of 1967 : Several campus expansion projects were completed. The C. C. Dunlap Field House expansion included a small gymn, classroom, faculty offices, and equipment room. The Student Union expansion included the addition of the west cafeteria, enlargement of the coffee shop and bookstore, and general renovations. The Library was extended to all of 2nd floor after the English classes were moved to Mitchell.

  • Statesman, September 5, 1967/Pg. 3

April 8, 1968 : The Science Building (Sullivan) is open for classes. The three-story science building housed four chemistry labs, four biological science labs and two makeup rooms besides regular classrooms.

  • Statesman, March 26, 1968/Front

April 26, 1968 : Salmon Hall is officially dedicated. The dormitory is named in honor of James Salmon who was physical plant engineer and member of the faculty.

  • Statesman, April 23, 1968/Front

Fall 1970 : New baseball field completed

  • Statesman, August 25, 1970/Pg. 8

September 23, 1970 : Dedication of the two story extension of the Technical Education Building (Baker) was held.

  • Statesman, October 6, 1970/Pg. 5

April 13, 1971 : Married students could now move into the 20 new mobile homes located across the highway from the campus.

  • Statesman, April 13, 1971/Pg. 5

April 22, 1972 : The Technical Education building is renamed the J. N. Baker Hall in honor of past president Dr. J.N. Baker, who was instrumental in Eastern’s obtaining the new facility.

  • Statesman, April 22, 1972/Pg. 12

Spring 1976 : Chickasaw Hall was demolished. It had served  as a boys’ dorm, girls’ dorm and an athletic dorm. The doors were closed in the late 1960’s when Salmon Hall was completed.

  • Statesman, May 11, 1976/Pg. 2 - *photo

August 27, 1974 :  The renovations of the C. C. Dunlap Field House are complete. The renovations included new playing floor, ceiling and lighting as well as the extension of the entrance-lobby.

April 13, 1976 : The fine arts building was officially  renamed Pratt Hall. The building was named for Bob Pratt in honor of his long time service as Music Director.

  • Statesman,  April 13, 1976/Pg. 3

January 24, 1978 :  The 20 mobile homes used for married house would start being phased out over the next few years. The “Vet Village” apartments were also slowly replaced by two bedroom duplexes.

  • Statesman, January 24, 1978/Front

October 14, 1979 : Dedication and Open House of the Gene Stipe Physical Education Center. The building was named in honor of Senator Gene Stipe who was a loyal supporter of Eastern Oklahoma State College.

  • Statesman, October 9, 1979//Front
  • Statesman, October 23, 1979/Pg. 4

August 1980 : Construction is finally completed on the E. T. Dunlap Center Of Higher Education at Idabel, Oklahoma. The center was formally dedicated in October 1981. The center was named in honor of E.T. Dunlap, former President of Eastern Oklahoma State College. The Higher Education program was started in 1976, in the old physicians building in downtown Idabel.

  • Statesman, October 9, 1979/Pg. 5 
  • Statesman, September 22, 1981/Pg. 5

September 11, 1980 : The formal dedication of the Jim D. Sullivan building was held. The science building was named in honor of the late Jim D. Sullivan, who served as the head of the Journalism department and Director of Public Information at Eastern from 1958-1979.

  • Statesman, September 10, 1980/Front

1985 : First greenhouse built on campus. It was built as part of the new horticulture program that had been implemented at Eastern. The first greenhouse was built on land owned by Eastern on Hwy 2 North. This building was destroyed in 1989-1990 during an ice storm. The current one was built in 1994 north of Salmon Hall and is still in operation today.

  • Statesman, November 19, 2004/Pg. 5

August 25, 1988 : OMTI (Oklahoma Miner Training Institute) becomes part of Eastern Oklahoma State College. The program is located in Baker Hall. Dedication ceremonies were held October 28, 1988.

  • Statesman, August 25, 1988/Front
  • Statesman, October 20, 1988/Front

November 1989 : Dedication of the newly renovated Agriculture Complex. The renovation was made possible by donations by 22 area individuals. The modificiations included expansion of the show building by 20 feet to allow the showring to be enclosed, new interior surfacing  and painting, an announcer’s booth added behind the show ring, a new concession stand, an improved sound system and improved lighting and electrical facilities to meet increased electrical needs for show animal preparation.

  •  Eastern In Review, Vo1. 2, No. 2 (January 15, 1990)/Pg. 7

1990-1995 :  The newly renovated Choctaw Hall was dedicated on April 21, 1995. Department Of Corrections did extensive work on the building including climate control, electrical and plumbing. The building now offers 40,000 square feet of classroom, living and administrative area for the cadet training program.

  • Eastern In Review, Vol. 2, No. 3 (May 18, 1990)/ Pg. 5
  • Eastern In Review, Vol. 7, No. 3 (April 1995)/ Pg. 4

1996-1997 : Renovation of area between Mitchell and Student Union to make it accessible for handicapped students and visitors. The renovations included adding ramps and redoing stairs. The end result was a nice looking Plaza area for the campus.

  • Eastern In Review, Vol. 8, No. 2 (January 1996)/ Pg. 4

May 3, 1996 : The Raymond Gary Library/Administration Building was renamed in honor of Bill H. Hill, President of Eastern Oklahoma State College.

  • Resolution signed by Eastern Oklahoma State College Board Of Regents , May 3, 1996

1997-1998 : The McAlester branch of Eastern Oklahoma State College is established. The first building on the branch campus is the Wanda Bass Building. The 22,000 square foot building has 10 regular classrooms, a specialized classroom for a science lab, one for a computer lab, two for interactive television classes and a resource center, student lounge, and administration offices. Classrooms are in two wings with the resource center, student lounge and administrative offices in the middle. The building is named in honor of Wanda Bass who along with her husband Clark gave funding for the construction.

  • Eastern In Review, Vol. 9, No. 1 (October 1996)/ Pg. 26
  • Eastern In Review, Vol. 9, No. 4 (July 1997)/Pg. 5

April 17, 1997 : Construction completed on the Clock Tower in front of the Library-Administration Building.

  • Eastern In Review, Vol. 9, No. 3 (April 1997)/ Pg. 8
  • Statesman, April 17, 1997/Front

November 1997 : Dedication of the Hughes Clock Tower. The Clock Tower was named in honor of Mr. And Mrs. J. R. Hughes, parents of Dolly Hughes Harrison. Dolly Hughes Harrison donated the money for the construction.

  • Eastern In Review, Vol. 10, No. 2 (January 1998)/Pg. 5
  • Dedication Plaque on the back side of the left front column (facing library building)

Summer 1998 : McAlester Branch Campus opens to students. Its formal name is the Wanda L. Bass Higher Education Center.

  • Statesman, April 2, 1998/Front

November 23, 1998 : Department of Corrections Center for Correctional Officer Studies on the Wilburton campus was dedicated as the Gene Stipe Correctional Training Academy. The training center in Wilburton opened December 15, 1989, and first academy began in January 1990 with 83 students.

  • Eastern In Review, Volume 11, No. 2 (January 1999)/Pg. 6-7

July 1, 1999 : Dedication of the American Indian Center was held. The American Indian Center is located in  Johnston Hall. Johnston Hall is one of Eastern’s oldest buildings and will now serve as a Native American Student Center and Residence Hall. Renovations and updates were done by the Choctawn Nation.

  • Eastern In Review, Vol. 10, No. 3 (April 1998)/ Pg. 8
  • Eastern In Review. Vol. 11, No. 4 (July 1999)/Pg. 4

2001-2002 : A new wing (addition) was added to the front of the existing Library/Administration building. The addition provided more administrative office space as well as new office area for the President.

  • Statesman, August 12, 2001/Front
  • Statesman, September 7, 2001/Front

September 30, 2003 : Ground breaking ceremonies held for the Clark Bass Building on the McAlester Campus of Eastern Oklahoma State College.

  • Eastern In Review, Vol. 15, No. 2 (Fall/Winter 2003)/Pg. 5

December 2004 : The “White House” renovations were completed. The “White House” was originally the President's House but now serves as Eastern’s Alumni and Visitor Center.

  • Statesman, December 10, 2004/Pg. 3

April 15, 2005 : Clark Bass Building dedicated on the McAlester Campus of Eastern Oklahoma State College. The new facility includes 28,000 square feet of floor space and seven ITV classrooms for distance learning activities. It also includes seven classrooms, computer lab, conference room and a 120 seat seminar center. The building was named in honor of Clark Bass who along with his wife provided funding for the construction.

  • Eastern In Review, Vol. 17, No. 1 (Fall/Winter 2005)/Pg. 8
  • Statesman, April 19, 2005/Front

May 4, 2007 : Groundbreaking ceremony was held for the new Student Life & Learning Center. The new building will be located directly in front of the Library/Administration Building.

PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION

Be sure and visit the History and the Building Timeline Photo Page for more campus history.