Viirginia Military Institute barracks and class buildings, Lexington, Virginia copy print photos, 1893/1917

Containers:

Box 11, Folder 35

Scope and content:

The copy print photos of VMI in this folder are as follows:

THIS WAS TAKEN BY MILEY OF LEXINGTON, VIRGINIA, circa 1893-1896. The interior of the second floor of Isaac Eugene Alexander Rose's Jackson Memorial Hall barracks classroom.

THESE WERE TAKEN BY MILEY OF LEXINGTON, VIRGINIA, circa 1903. A front view of the barracks with the cannons. A northwest front view of the barracks. A front view of the barracks with cadets lined up in front. A front view of the barracks with the porter's house at the other end of the parade ground. A front view of the barracks showing the Virginia Mourning Her Dead statue in front. The VMI road side view of the barracks. Two views of the back of the barracks, taken from North Main Street, one of which is in the Winter.

THESE WERE TAKEN BY MILEY OF LEXINGTON, VIRGINIA, circa 1917. A front view of the barracks, showing the early library beside them. A view of the backs of two buildings on the VMI parade ground, showing North Main Street and the tennis courts and a portion of the outdoor track on the east side of the street. A professor standing in a classroom with empty desks.

Biographical / historical:

The Virginia Military Institute (VMI), founded on November 11, 1839, in Lexington, Virginia, is the oldest public senior military college in the United States. Established on the site of a former state arsenal in Lexington, Virginia, VMI was created to train "citizen-soldiers" who could provide leadership in both civilian careers and military conflicts.

The Gothic Revival style Library building was constructed in 1907 right next to the Barracks and used until 1939. Before its completion, VMI's modest library collections were kept inside other multi-use campus buildings. The structure was demolished to make room for the expansion of the VMI Barracks, specifically the construction of the "New Barracks" wings from 1946–1948. Library operations were moved to the newly constructed Preston Library, which was dedicated in 1939 during VMI's centennial.

Access and use