Boreman Hall is a residence hall on the campus of

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...

Morgantown, West Virginia Morgantown is a city in and the county seat of Monongalia County, West Virginia, Monongalia County, West Virginia, United States, situated along the Monongahela River. The largest city in North-Central West Virginia, Morgantown is best known as th ...

. Originally called ''Men's Hall'' when it was constructed in 1935, the hall is named after

Arthur I. Boreman Arthur Ingram Boreman (July 24, 1823April 19, 1896) was an American lawyer, politician and judge who helped found the U.S. state of West Virginia. Raised in Tyler County, West Virginia, he served as the state's first Governor, and a United Sta ...

, the first governor of the state of West Virginia. With the addition of a new annex building in 1963, Boreman Hall is now actually two separate buildings. Boreman Hall North, the newer of the two, is currently an all

female Female (Venus symbol, symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ovum, ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the Sperm, male gamete during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gamet ...

dorm, the only single sex residence hall on the campus. Boreman Hall South, the older E-shaped building, is coed and includes 10 entrances. These entrances are connected to the others by way of bathrooms and ground floor lounges. Construction on the original building started in 1934 and opened in time for the 1935 school year. With its opening, the university finally had a place for its men to live on campus. Before the hall was completed, men had to either live in

fraternity A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, "wiktionary:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal ...

houses, boarding houses, or with a local Morgantown family. Funding for the building came in part from the federal

Public Works Administration The Public Works Administration (PWA), part of the New Deal of 1933, was a large-scale public works construction agency in the United States headed by Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes. It was created by the National Industrial Recove ...

which was a

New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...

agency set up during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

of the 1930s. The PWA supplied a loan of $446,080 and a grant of $179,876 for the project, whose total cost was $632,996. The building cost $625,000 at the time which is roughly equal to about $8.5 million in 2003

US Dollars The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from Dollar, other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the hall was used as an

Army Air Force The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...

. Prominent dents in the doors of Boreman hall could still be seen as recently as 2017, remnants of

Drill Instructors A drill instructor is a non-commissioned officer in the armed forces, fire department, or police forces with specific duties that vary by country. Foot drill, military step, and marching are typically taught by drill instructors. Australia Aust ...

striking to doors sharply with

rifle A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves ( rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with ...

butts in order to awaken soldiers/airmen at early hours, especially new recruits. Directly across from the hall, where the current

Student Union A students' union, also known by many other names, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, ...

stands, there was a parade field and an armory that were used as training grounds. Residents of the hall were transported to the Morgantown airport, where they were trained by the US Air Force. Since the end of the war, the hall has been used strictly as a residence hall and continues to be used as such today. It has been renovated and remodeled over the years, but it has remained one of the main cornerstones of the West Virginia University community and has often been the building where new programs that have moved campus-wide have been instituted. The hall is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

References

* Rubin, Scott B. ''The History of Boreman Hall South''. Morgantown: Morgantown Printing and Binding, 2005. {{coord, 39, 37, 59, N, 79, 57, 10, W, display=title University and college dormitories in the United States West Virginia University campus Colonial Revival architecture in West Virginia Works Progress Administration in West Virginia University and college buildings completed in 1935 1935 establishments in West Virginia Residential buildings completed in 1935 National Archives: Record Group 135: Public Works Administration; Projects Control Division; Entry 52: Indices to Non-Federal Projects; Report No. 5: Status of All Completed Non-Federal Allotted Projects, page 78.