Who is Maxwell Chambers?
Maxwell Chambers was a planter and manufacturer from Salisbury, NC, who willed the college a significant bequest of approximately $250,000 in 1855. These funds laid the monetary foundation for the main academic building on campus. The original Chambers Building (“Old Chambers”) was completed in 1860 and burned down on November 21, 1921. A “new” Chambers was built and completed in 1929. Chambers was also a slaveholder and more information about this can be found in his will.
For more information about Maxwell Chambers, please visit these resources:
- Chambers Building Encyclopedia Entry
- Maxwell Chambers NCpedia Biographical Entry
- A copy of Maxwell Chambers can be found printed in the 19th Century Board of Trustee minute meetings, which are digitized and downloadable on the 19th Century Primary Sources Research Guide. The will can be found on pages 256 to 267.