William J. Samford Hall is a structure on the campus of

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

. It is an icon of

and houses the school's administration. The building is named for

William J. Samford William James Samford (September 16, 1844 – June 11, 1901) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 31st Governor of Alabama and in the United States House of Representatives. Early life and education William James Samford ...

, the

Governor of Alabama A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

from 1900 to 1901.

History

When Auburn University (as East Alabama Male College) opened in 1859, classes were held in a structure named "Old Main" on the current site of Samford Hall. On June 24, 1887, Old Main was destroyed by fire. The following year, Samford Hall (then simply known as the "Main Building") was constructed, using, in part, bricks salvaged from the ruins of Old Main. The design of Samford Hall roughly mirrored that of Old Main, except that Samford Hall had two main entrances instead of Old Main's one, and on Samford one of the two

flanking tower A flanking tower is a fortified tower that is sited on the outside of a defensive wall or other fortified structure and thus forms a flank. From the defensive platform and embrasures the section of wall between them (the curtain wall) could be s ...

s was considerably taller and was constructed to contain a clock.Mickey Logue and Jack Simms, ''Auburn, A Pictorial History of the Loveliest Village'' (Auburn: s.n., 1996), Mollie Hollifield, ''Auburn: Loveliest Village of the Plain'' (S.l.: s.n., 1955) In 1889, a

clockworks Clockwork refers to the inner workings of either mechanical devices called clocks and watches (where it is also called the movement) or other mechanisms that work similarly, using a series of gears driven by a spring or weight. A clockwork mech ...

and bell were added to the taller tower.Brian Dennig,
Samford Hall Clock Tower and Samford Carillon
'', accessed March 11, 2007. Through the late 19th century, Samford Hall was the college's main classroom building and contained the library. In May 1929, the building was officially named for

. In 1941, the tower's mechanical clock was converted to run on electricity, and in 1977, a

carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a keyboard and consists of at least 23 cast-bronze bells. The bells are hung in fixed suspension and tuned in chromatic order so that they can be sounded harmoniou ...

was added. Samford Hall underwent major renovations in 1971, and the original clockworks were replaced in 1995.Roy Summerford,
Auburn University's "Big Sam" Gets His Hands Back
', Auburn University News Release, April 27, 1995, accessed March 11, 2007. Today, Samford Hall houses the school's administration, accounting, planning, and public relations offices.

Clock tower

Samford Hall's clock tower is the most recognized part of the building. The original clockworks were built by the Seth Thomas Clock Company of

Thomaston, Connecticut Thomaston is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 7,442 at the 2020 census. The urban center of the town is the Thomaston census-designated place, with a population of 1,928 at the 2020 census. History The t ...

. These clockworks were replaced in 1995 by a clock and electronic carillon made by th
Verdin Company
of

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. A portion of the original clockworks and an original clockface are on display in the reception area of Samford Hall. The Samford Hall carillon plays the

Westminster Chimes The Westminster Quarters, from its use at the Palace of Westminster, is a melody used by a set of four quarter bells to mark each quarter-hour. It is also known as the Westminster Chimes, Cambridge Quarters or Cambridge Chimes from its place of ...

on the quarter-hour, and plays the Auburn University fight song, "War Eagle", a few seconds after 12:00 noon. According to a University legend, students once led a cow up the tower stairs as a prank.

Historic District

Samford Hall is part of the Auburn University Historic District.

Notes

External links

Emporis listing

Webcam views of/from Samford Hall
{{Auburn University Auburn University buildings School buildings completed in 1888 Clock towers in Alabama 1888 establishments in Alabama