2017 Barn Fire

This morning the archives reflects on the loss of the university's historic barn located at the back of the main campus. At around 7:30 p.m. last night, November 16, 2017, the barn caught fire and was ultimately destroyed when the roof collapsed.  Investigations into the cause of the fire are ongoing.

 Although it was mostly disused in recent years, the barn was one of the more historic buildings on campus.  By researching the course catalogs from 1919 and 1929, I believe that it first served as a dairy barn and was constructed some time in 1928. This makes sense given that state appropriations to the college in the later 1920s as well as the generosity of Pierre DuPont significantly increased the college's capital. Whatever the case, the 1920-1930 catalog states, "The Dairy Barn, recently constructed, is a strictly modern building in design and equipment. It is one of the most important recent additions to the Agricultural Department."

At one time, the barn held a prominent place within the college community.  This is not surprising when considering that the State College for Colored Students was founded as an 1890s land-grant institution. Agricultural studies were at its very heart.  From conversations with alumni, I know that the barn held cows, pigs, chickens, and other animals that supported the dinning services on campus. Anecdotally, the cows that lived here are forever in the memories of the athletes who shared a field with them.

An undated photograph of the Dairy Bary, possibly c. 1930.

Barn, c. 1990

Interestingly, yesterday's fire is not the first in university history.  Two in particular come to mind: The first occurred in 1968 when a steel maintenance building used to store furniture and tools totally burned. The fire happened immediately following a student "sing-in" protest. No connection between the two events was made, but the student protestors were the ones who reported the fire and moved some of the school's vehicles out of the path of the flames. The second fire in institutional memory occurred at Loockerman Hall and was a result of arson in 1979.  At the time, the building was at the center of a very public debate about whether or not it should be preserved and restored. It was proven that the blaze had been set with kerosene and had burned for sometime before the fire department was made aware.

 The loss of the barn and the very uncertainty of the facts that I researched this morning serve as a reminder that history can be lost. It is easy to take for granted that what is here today might not be there tomorrow. I must also acknowledge that institutional memory is fuzzy. The unfortunate truth is that unless information is captured in a fixed media, it is likely to be lost.

The maintenance building after the 1968 fire.

Listen to the 1977 Gospel Choir

The DSU archives is giving a HUGE shout-out to 302 Stories Inc. for converting a prized LP record to CD!

The James A. Prettyman collection is my go-to source when examining the university's material culture circa 1965 to 1980. Contained within it are college pennants, clothing, pins, various souvenirs and an LP record of the Gospel Choir from 1977.

From my first day at Delaware State University, this Gospel Choir LP frustrated me. The opportunity to hear voices from the past was always right in front of me and yet so far out of reach because of  technological and financial limitations. Aside from a VHS player, I do not have the ability to playback or convert any audiovisual media.

When the archive's 125th anniversary exhibit opened a year ago, I included the record in one of the display cases. I thought that, at the very least, it added color and intrigue, and I noted that visitors enjoyed seeing it. What I didn't expect was that one set of visitors in particular, 302 Stories Inc., a documentary film company, would be able to provide me with access to the audio.

Thanks to Jeanne and Mike who enthusiastically converted the audio, I can now play the music of Take Me There to my heart's content. Stop by the archives any time to listen to the 1977 Gospel Choir! Were you a member of the choir? Let me know! I'd love to hear your stories.