Written on the Wall: The Story of Ventress

From 1848 to 1889, the University of Mississippi Library was located on the cramped and not easily accessible third floor of the Lyceum. To rectify this problem of space and accessibility, a new library building was begun at the east end of the Circle. It is now known as Ventress Hall.

The beautiful Victorian structure of red brick with whimsical spires served as the library from 1889 to 1911, when Chancellor Andrew Armstrong Kincannon oversaw the construction of another home for the University's expanding collection of books and academic journals. As soon as the library materials were transferred to the new building, the Law School, along with its own substantial legal library, moved into the vacated space and stayed there until 1929. Thereafter, the building was used for a variety of purposes.

The State Geological Survey was there from 1929 until 1963, followed by the Department of Geology. The building was used for classrooms off and on, and after 1970 the Art Department took up residence. In 1985 the building was named for James Alexander Ventress, a wealthy antebellum planter from Wilkinson County. Educated in Europe, he is listed as the first trustee in the University of Mississippi's Charter and was named in 1938 as the "Father of the University of Mississippi." Ventress was well suited for the role. Family legend has it that as his plantation home was being burned by Union forces, he addressed the commanding officer, who spoke with a German accent, in the man's native language. This so impressed the officer that he ordered his men to help put the flames out.

While the old building was being honored in name, it was in physical decline. In 1993 the State Legislature appropriated funds for the restoration of the building, which became the home of the College of Liberal Arts in 1997. Restored to its original majesty, Ventress Hall is now one of the most spectacular buildings on campus. Among its many beautiful and significant features is the original stained glass window that depicts the University's involvement in the Confederate war effort. The window was commissioned by the Delta Gamma Sorority from Tiffany Glass Company to honor the University Greys, a company comprised completely of Ole Miss students that suffered 100 percent casualties at the battle of Gettysburg. When the sorority ran short of funds for the $500 purchase, the Alumni Association provided the remainder needed on the condition that the window would memorialize all of the University's Confederate soldiers.

Interestingly, another of the old building's unique characteristics involves the Confederacy; for when Ventress Hall was serving as the library, a Confederate veteran signed his name and unit on the interior of one of the building's turrets. From then on, University students have signed their names there, and although it is more difficult to get there now, a few enterprising students manage to join the ranks every year.

Rankin Sherling

Sketch of Ventress Hall