Marshall Women's Gym

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The Marshall Women’s Gym was demolished during the 1984 Christmas break.

Courtesy Marshall University Special Collections

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Until 1915, the future Marshall University was a one-building school.
 Old Main housed classrooms, offices, a library, a dining hall,
a women’s’ dormitory, an auditorium and even
a basketball court in the basement.

The second building built at the school, Northcott Hall,
was named for prominent Huntington retail merchant
 and political figure Gustavus A. Northcott. Members
of the Masonic Lodge laid the cornerstone for
 Northcott Hall in the fall of 1915. The
 building was occupied the
following April.

When it was built, Northcott primarily housed classrooms for the
 various sciences. After construction of Marshall’s new science
 building in 1950, Northcott was used for other classes,
including business and art. It was demolished in
1995 to make way for Marshall’s new
John Deaver Drinko Library.

Marshall became a three-building school with construction
 of the Women’s Physical Education Building, generally
 referred to as the Women’s Gym.

Gov. Ephriam Morgan delivered the May 4, 1922, dedication
 speech. He and members of the State Board of Control
 combined their trip to Marshall with an inspection
visit to what was then called the Huntington
 State Hospital. The dedication program
 included a basketball game between
 Marshall and Transylvania
 College and a play
 presented by
 the school’s
Drama
 Club.

The 62-year old Women’s Gym was the only gymnasium
 on the campus until the construction of Gullickson Hall
 in 1959. With the completion of the Henderson
 Center, the Women’s Gym was no longer
needed, so was demolished during
the 1984 Christmas break

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Note:  This Article and picture appeared in the Herald-Dispatch Newspaper on Oct. 31, 2023.

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