In 1962, a new female dormitory opened on campus for 180 female students. The students could choose between double and triple rooms with built-in vanity desks. The residents faced strict rules as one mandated that all drapes be drawn by 7:00 pm. In 1964, the dormitory was selected as the winner in the annual design contest sponsored by the North Dakota chapter of the American Institute of Architects. The judges praised the dormitory "for its well conceived plan and for its use of a central core service area," because the plan was "well expressed in elevations and allows a maximum use of exterior areas around the central core for housing rooms" (NDSU Bulletin 1965-1967, p.28; "NDSU Dormitory Design Is Winner in State," Fargo Forum, Nov. 13, 1964). The new dormitory was dedicated as Jessamine Slaughter Burgum Hall in honor of Jessamine Slaughter the first female student at NDSU (then NDAC).
Jessamine
Slaughter (Burgum) was originally from Bismarck, North Dakota and was the first
woman to enroll at the North Dakota Agricultural College after receiving a scholarship
from Burleigh County. After leaving NDAC, Slaughter returned to Bismarck where
she married Joseph Burgum. In 1899, she moved to Arthur, North Dakota. While
residing in Arthur, Burgum served as a director and secretary of the Arthur
Farmers Elevator Co., and president of the Hunter, N.D., Power Company. She
was also active local and state affairs and found the time to write four books
of poetry and one book of historical sketches about North Dakota. Having the
new women's dormitory named for her was the second time a building was to be
named for Burgum. She nearly had Ceres Hall named for her in 1910, but members
of the Board of Education and the NDAC Board of Trustees feared that students
would refer to the building as "Slaughter House" rather than "Slaughter Hall."
Burgum died in March 1962.
Architectural Information
"Modern style; three stories, a women's dormitory erected on the old part of campus southeast of Putnam Hall. Yellow wire-faced brick compatible with surrounding buildings; an arch-roofed commons room projects to the east of the rectangular dormitory structure. Johnson and Lightowler, architects." (National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form, Summer 1982, p. 6)
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University Archives, 701-231-8914 Published by the University Archives, NDSU Last Updated: 8/27/04 |