Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum, Collection

Sources: Phoenix of the Mountains: The Story of Lincoln Memorial University by Joseph E. Suppiger, 3rd edition, Lincoln Memorial University Press, Harrogate, Tennessee, 2001. Additional LMU publications and archival photographs are cited as reference sources. ---This website is currently in-progress

The President's Home: Smith Manor, circa 1914.

The Smith Manor was originally built upon the campus of Lincoln Memorial University in 1913. It was one of the first buildings to be erected during President George Allen Hubbell's administration (1910-1922). It originated from a gift by Mrs. W. W. Smith, of Poughkeepsie, New York, the wife of one of the Smith Brothers of Cough Drop fame.

Working with Dr. George Allen Hubbell at the time was Mr. E. P. Fairchild of New Jersey, financial secretary of the Board, who campaigned for funds in the East and New England. Dr. John Wesley Hill was also instrumental in raising funds for the building's construction; he served as Chancellor of the University from 1916 to 1936.

Smith Manor was remodeled in 1984 and serves as a residence for the University President and family and is also used to host receptions for many social functions on campus.

The Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum was dedicated on June 4, 1977, as the result of a successful capital campaign that began with a challenge gift of a half a million dollars by Colonel and Mrs. Harland D. Sanders of Kentucky, for the building of a facility to enshrine and preserve the priceless Lincolniana and Civil War manuscripts, books, and relics which the institution has acquired over many years. Prior to its construction, the artifacts and memorabilia signifying the legacy of Abraham Lincoln were housed in the Lincoln Room of the Duke Hall of Citizenship, dedicated in 1929. Today this unique collection is part of the proud heritage of Lincoln Memorial University, with its purpose to serve as a living memorial to President Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States.

Carnegie-Vincent Library In 1904 the famed philanthropist Andrew Carnegie provided $20,000 to LMU founder General Oliver Otis Howard for a library building that was completed two years later. Today, this renovated building includes an expansion of facilities and fiber optic technology to the Bert Vincent Memorial Library wing and the Harold M. Finley Learning resources Center. The groundbreaking ceremonies for the Carnegie-Vincent Library expansion and renovation project took place in 1986.

Chinnock Chapel (Elizabeth D. Chinnock Chapel) Built in 1987, the ceremonial groundbreaking for the construction of the Chinnock Chapel took place on June 6, 1987. The chapel is named in honor of trustee Elizabeth D. Chinnock. This 1,800 square foot space provides an environment suitable for prayer and the enrichment of a rich religious experience. Built into the architectural design is a one-of-a-kind stained glass window with Abraham Lincoln's portrait in it.

D.A.R. Hall (the present home of the J. Frank White Academy)

The Tennessee Daughter's of the American Revolution Hall was built on the south side of the Lincoln Memorial University quadrangle. It is three stories high, exclusive of the basement, and originally had sixty rooms. This building took its name from the fact that a large portion of the cost of construction was given by the Tennessee Daughters of the American Revolution.

Duke Hall of Citizenship

The Duke Hall of Citizenship was a philanthropic gift of Benjamin Newton Duke, of tobacco and textile entrepreneurial fame.

Official dedication ceremonies of this administration building took place on Memorial Day, 1928, which coincided with the baccalaurate ceremonies held in the auditorium. Many Civil War veterans who fought on both sides assisted in the formal dedication of Duke Hall. The renown Lincolniana collection was housed on the second floor of this building in the Lincoln Room until its’ subsequent relocation to the Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum.

Ellen Myers Elementary School The Ellen Myers Elementary School had its beginning with Lincoln Memorial University in 1897 as a department of the new institution established as "a model elementary school" to be called "Ellen M. Myers School, in recognition of the consecrated, self-sacrificing pioneer service in the founding of elementary schools in this mountain country" by Mrs. Arthur Aaron Myers of Cumberland Gap, Tennessee. The Reverend and Mrs. Myers were missionary workers with the American Missionary Association, serving the regional children in the Kentucky mountains for more than twenty years and they were responsible for establishing the Harrow School (Harrow Hall, also popularly known as "Harrow Academy") at Cumberland Gap in 1890. This school was enlarged into Lincoln Memorial University on February 12, 1897. Mrs. Myers lived only a few months after the department was established in her honor, dying in the summer of that year at the age of 54. She was the first teacher in the school started by her and her husband in 1890 in the basement of the Congregational Church which they built in the Gap as a missionary project, and she continued as a teacher until her death. The Ellen Myers School operated as the primary department of the Harrow School at Cumberland Gap until the building burned February 14, 1907. With the insurance received from the loss of the Harrow School, the Trustees allocated funds to help the citizens of the Cumberland Gap build another elementary school, and the remaining amount was used toward the construction of a two-story, four-room building at Harrogate across from the Lincoln Memorial University campus. This was named "The Ellen Myers School," and served as the elementary department and training school for the college. Due to the limited attendance, at first requiring only two teachers, the remainder of the building was used for Sunday School classes and community gatherings.

The Ellen Myers School was operated by the college for the first few years for the children in the community and especially the girls of the Grace Nettleton Home. Lincoln Memorial University and the Claiborne County School Board later established a working alliance for the maintenance of this elementary school, and the County took over the full responsibility for the teachers and the maintenance of the building. However, the college had a close relationship with the elementary school, using it for students training for public school teaching. As the Harrogate community grew, more teachers were added. For several years, the building erected in 1907 was inadequate to serve the needs of the community and the teacher-training program at Lincoln Memorial University.

The Harrogate Parents-Teacher-Association and patrons of the community greatly rejoiced that a modern, well-equipped elementary school building was provided by the Claiborne County School Board. The new building was dedicated Sunday, September 19, 1954.

Source: Program of Dedicatory Services for Ellen Myers School, Sunday, September 19, 1954.

Grace Nettleton Home for Girls (1900-1956) . c.f. Record Group

The Grace Nettleton Home for Girls was established in 1900 and remained in operation under the aegis of Lincoln Memorial University until 1956. The Home was founded by Mr. and Mrs. Franklin E. Nettleton of Scranton, Pennsylvania and named in memory of their daughter, Grace, who passed away when she was twelve years old. Officially opened in 1900 with six girls under the administrative and caring guidance of Miss Emily Winters of Springfield, Massachussetts, the Home was located in Harrogate, Tennessee. The Grace Nettleton Memorial was incorporated in 1904 and became the "Girls' Industrial Home and School." As it expanded its' service to the community, the school ministered to the needs of hundreds of young girls who were homeless, motherless, and friendless in the mountains of the Cumberlands.

It began as a vision of Rev. Arthur Aaron Myers, a Congregation Minister who had settled at Cumberland Gap in 1889 with his wife Ellen, in their fulfillment of missionary work to advance the spirit, education, and qualities of life for the mountaineer children. Mr. Myers' vision led to the establishment of Lincoln Memorial University in 1897 and the Grace Nettleton Home three years later.

Rev. Myers went to the churches in New England, in New York and Pennsylvania, wherever he could secure a hearing, telling his story of the needs of the mountain youth of the Cumberland Gap region. As a result of the Nettleton's benevolence, Myers was able to purchase the vacant Harrogate Inn, which perched on a hill, and 19 acres of property overlooking the Lincoln Memorial University campus to the west. The Home could accommodate approximately 40 girls each year.

From 1900, when the Home was started until her death in 1914, Miss Winters was a very courageous and unselfish Superintendent who advanced and served in the noble service of the Grace Nettleton Home. Miss Winters had been highly recommended by Theodore Roosevelt, as she had been a former governess to the Roosevelt family. Later, Mr. and Mrs. Roosevelt sent books to expand the library at the Home. In 1904 the Home was incorporated, and was undenominational, its object: "The Glory of God, in the Industrial, Secular, and Religious Education and care of needy and deserving girls, emphasizing the daily teaching of the 'Word,' and to aid in maintaining religious services in the neighborhood.”

Upon the death of Miss Winters in 1914, the Home was administered by Miss Elizabeth Jackson. Later superintendents included Miss Corinne Taylor, Mrs. Leone Ragland, Miss Catherine Smith, and Mrs. Roger Smith. Miss Mossie Overton of Cumberland Gap served for several years as secretary and treasurer of the Home, and chairman of the House Committee. Mrs. D. G. Hinks and others served ably as presidents of the board; and such University administrators as Stewart W. McClelland, W. I. Jones, and Robert L. Kincaid would give it their whole-hearted support. In 1904 the Home was incorporated as a separate institution, and remained, technically, as such, except for a brief period before World War I when LMU's Board of Trustees was called upon to administer it.

The Home functioned in part as a girls' industrial school. Many of these girls left the home at age fourteen to complete their education through high school, and even college. Over a thousand active citizens received their training at the Home, becoming teachers, nurses, and sound and resourceful homemakers.

Sources: 1) Suppiger, Joseph E. Phoenix of the Mountains: The Story of Lincoln Memorial University. 3rd ed. Harrogate, Tenn.: Lincoln Memorial University Press, 2001. 2) Jackson, Elizabeth. The Story of the Grace Nettleton Home. [Harrogate, Tenn.: Lincoln Memorial University Press, 1934?]

Grant-Lee Hall (in-progress)

The central administrative building of Lincoln Memorial University in the early foundational period of the 1890's. It had originally been a health sanitarium of the "Four Seasons" resort overseen by Alexander A. Arthur (founder of Middlesboro, Kentucky). The building was purchased for the University by General O. O. Howard's business agent, Cyrus H. Kehr of Chicago.

Harrow Hall, Cumberland Gap Harrow Hall, popularly known as "Harrow Academy" was the first advanced school established in 1890, in the township of Cumberland Gap. The school was started under the auspices of the American Missionary Association. The property was later acquired by Lincoln Memorial University and carried classes in the first six grades. The name "Harrow" was suggested by Lady Pauncefoote on her visit to Harrogate.

Lafrentz-Poole Hall Dormitory, Exterior and interior views, circa 1930's

The Lafrentz-Poole Hall dormitory was originally built for the purpose of housing the young women attending Lincoln Memorial University. The four-story building was constructed through the generous efforts of Ferdinand Lafrentz, a distinguished trustee of the University, who had spent the decade of the 1880's in Wyoming, where he was a member of the territorial legislature from 1888-1889. Lafrentz wrote a book of poems about cowboy life as he had known it entitled "Cowboy Stuff," and gave all the proceeds from its sale to a fund which would build the dormitory. By the summer of 1928, $125,000 in royalties came in for the building fund. In 1929, the dormitory was completed and named in honor of LaFrentz's wife's family as well as in memory of Doris Lafrentz, his mother.

Matthies-DAR Creamery (c.f. the Cumberland Mountain Research Center)

The Matthies-DAR Creamery at Lincoln Memorial University was dedicated on November 19, 1938. The groundbreaking ceremony occurred during the events of the June, 1938 Commencement. Miss Katherine Matthies of New Haven, Connecticut, immediate past chairman of the National Committee on Approved Schools of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution was present for the ceremony, as well as LMU representatives and Mrs. J.D. Templin, of Middlesboro, Kentucky, regent of the Kentucky Path Chapter of the DAR

During the June, 1938 Commencement, fifty-two graduates received diplomas, as the largest class in the history of the University.

See also reference: The Katherine Matthies Foundation at the URL address: http://electronicvalley.org/matthies/

LMU Springhouse and Amphitheatre The Springhouse was originally constructed near Tiprell, Tennessee, in 1892, as a source of mineral water from the Hamilton Springs, in association with the Four Seasons Hotel and Sanatorium, a health and vacation resort located at Harrogate, Tennessee. It was this beautiful stone spring house that the LMU Class of 1936 chose to move to the campus. A contract was negotiated with Charles J. Smith of Cumberland Gap to take down the stone in such a manner that it could be reconstructed onsite. It is a memorial dedicated to Madame Francis Eppinger, Lincoln Memorial University Instructor in German, 1914 to 1936. The memorial committee was composed of the following members: Cran B. Baldwin, Manager; Herman H. Perry, Associate Manager; Ira B. Wilson, Asst. Manager; J. Beryl Crawford, Secretary; and Welborne L. Baldwin, Treasurer. The Amphitheatre known as the "Under the Stars" Theatre, was a project of the Class of 1937; it was also moved to the campus from Tiprell and built under the direction of Earl Hobson Smith, Head of the Speech and Drama Department, Lincoln Memorial University, 1926 to 1969. Several outdoor commencements, special events, theatrical productions and concerts have been held at this location. Both structures are located between Avery Hall and the President's Home.