Canfield Hall
Canfield Hall is actually named for an entire family: Former OSU President James Hulme Canfield, his wife, Flavia, who founded the University Women’s Club, and their daughter, Dorothy Canfield Fisher, a best-selling author and educational activist of her time.
James Canfield was also OSU’s first president to have grown up in a city. He was born in Delaware, Ohio, in 1847, but his family soon moved to New York City, where he grew up and attended school. He briefly practiced law in Michigan before taking a teaching position at the University of Kansas in 1877, which he held for 14 years. In 1891 Canfield accepted the Chancellorship at the University of Nebraska, and four years later—on April 11, 1895—he was elected President of Ohio State.
One of Canfield’s first acts as president was to establish in 1895 a lab near Lake Erie (the precursor to Stone Lab). Under his leadership, enrollment surpassed 1,000 (1897), and the power plant and armory were built. The University also added Domestic Science, Commerce and Administration courses to the curriculum.
Canfield resigned his post in 1899 to become the Librarian at Columbia University. He died in 1909.
On June 10, 1940, Canfield Hall was named as a tribute to him, his wife, and their daughter.
As one of the older buildings on campus, it was constructed in stages. The original building project included the second and final addition to Mack Hall and the first unit of the Women’s Dining Hal, now known as Kennedy Commons. Additions were later made during the construction of Paterson and Bradley Halls, and it was reported completed by The Lantern in September of 1954. The catch was that beds had yet to arrive, so students first slept on mattresses on the floor.
more information:
John H. Herrick Archives: Canfield Hall
