Jeter Hall
Site: On Richmond Way
Groundbreaking: October 5, 1912
Completed: Summer, 1913
Architect: Ralph Adams Cram of Cram, Goodhue and Ferguson; Carneal & Johnston (supervising architects)
Size: 27,935 square feet
Cost: $189,150 (includes cost of Thomas Memorial Hall)
Renovations: 1975
In the spring of 1910, a committee charged with creating the campus for the new school selected the architectural firm of Cram, Goodhue and Ferguson. It was determined that the campus would be built in Cram’s “Collegiate Gothic” style.
Jeter Hall was among the first buildings constructed on the Westhampton campus. When built, it was referred to as Dormitory No. 1. Thomas Memorial Hall was called Dormitory No. 2. In 1915, Dormitory No. 1 was name for Jeremiah Bell Jeter who later served as president of the Richmond College Board of Trustees. Jeter was a Baptist minister who was president of the Baptist General Association of Virginia from 1854 to 1857, was editor of The Religious Herald from 1865 until 1880, and was a charter member of the Board of Managers of the Virginia Baptist Seminary. Jeter, along with James B. Taylor, organized the formation of the Education Society in June, 1930. This led to the formation of the Virginia Baptist Seminary that later become Richmond College.
When Cram, Goodhue and Ferguson began working on the Westhampton campus, the firm had already built the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, as well as buildings for Princeton University, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and Williams College. Ralph Adams Cram was later appointed Supervising Architect at Bryn Mawr College, whose campus is known for its Collegiate Gothic architecture. Carneal and Johnston, a Richmond firm, served as local representatives for Cram, Goodhue, and Ferguson.
Construction on Jeter Hall was begun on October 5, 1912 and was completed in the summer of 1913. During World War I, while Thomas Hall was used as a base hospital for soldiers returning from France, Jeter Hall became housing for the nurses who worked at the hospital.
Jeter Hall is a centrally air-conditioned facility with 57 rooms, hall baths, lower level laundry room and bicycle storage areas, and numerous storage facilities throughout.
Sources:
UR website
VBHS building file
Reports from the Committee on New Buildings, 1914 (VBHS)
University Facilities