LibAnswers: Archives, Special Collections, and Community: College History

On the morning of November 28, 1921, a fire consumed the Old Chambers building in a little more than six hours.  Nobody was seriously hurt in the fire.  Most of the students were able to recover a fair portion of their belongings, but the building was unable to be saved.  A new Chambers building was rebuilt over the next several years and completed in 1929. In our artifact collection, we have the pocket of a pajama coat worn by J.M. Lowry (Class of 1922) during the Chambers fire (Note: During this time period, Chambers was both an academic building and a dormitory).

For more information about the burning of Old Chambers, please visit these resources:

• Old Chambers Encyclopedia Entry
• Chambers Building - Old and New Encyclopedia Entry

• Fire in Old Chambers – Photographs

• Fire in Old Chambers - Primary Sources
• Letters from student Daniel McGeachy: November 28, 1921 and December 1,1921
• December 2, 1921 issue of The Davidsonian