Renovation of Howry, Falkner, Barr, and Leavell Halls has been going on since the summer. Up until now, it seems to have been mostly demolition of the interior, but the elevator shaft that connects Howry and Falkner is taking shape. In addition to Howry, Falkner, and Barr, Longstreet, Hill, and Vardaman were also built in 1929 to house males on the campus. Each housed 60 students.
Howry was named for Charles Bowen Howry, who earned a law degree from the University in 1869. He was a Mississippi House of Representatives member, US District Attorney, and Assistant Attorney General of the US. Howry has been in continuous use as a residence since it was built in 1929 until this past summer, when renovations began.
Falkner was named for Judge J. W. T. Falkner, Sr., and was most recently used as a women's dorm.
Barr was named for Hugh A. Barr of Lafayette. Most recently, it houses the Office of Sponsored Research and Programs.
Situated between Barr and Hill is Leavell Hall, built in 1938, supported by WPA funds. It housed 72 males, and was named for philosophy and political science professor Richard Leavell. The architect was R. W. Naef of the Overstreet firm.
Hill Hall, named for Judge Robert A. Hill of Oxford, was connected to Longstreet with the adjoining elevator during the renovations in 2007 and 2008. President A. B Longstreet served the University from 1849-1856. I think I have mentioned before that Longstreet was gutted and renovated with all new interior, floors, windows, etc. Apparently, the only thing preserved in the building was the iron railings on the stairwells. On the other hand, Hill was preserved, including the wooden windows, the interior wooden doors, replacement tiles matched the original, and the interior colors were retained. Vardaman, on the other side of Longstreet, was named for Governor Vardaman, who was known as "the Great White Chief" due to his advocacy for white supremacy. Vardaman currently houses the William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation.
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