When Fire Destroyed Old Main at Bucknell, 1932

 
On August 27, 1932, a fire broke out in Old Main,  Bucknell University. 
The fire destroyed twelve classrooms, university records and files, and administrative offices.

Within two hours, the huge historic building was in ruins.  "Only the blackened walls remained standing, outlined against the fire scarred trees of the campus." Many of the old trees were so badly burned and scarred that they needed to be uprooted.

Construction of the building, which  was four stories high, had begun in 1849, with the west wing completed first, followed by the east wing and then the center.

The building was designed by Thomas Walter, the architect of the National Capital dome and wings. Considered one of the largest college buildings of it's time, Old Main contained recitation rooms, a library, a commencement hall, a museum, meeting rooms, study rooms, and dormitories.

Fire alarms were first heard at 4:40 am on August 27th 1932.  Fire trucks from Milton, Sunbury, Northumberland and Mifflinburg responded to the blaze, bringing it under control around 10am.  

The fire destroyed most of the classrooms, part of the library, some of the dorms, and most of the museum collections.

Newspapers reported that destroyed along with the building, was "the valuable biological and geological collection of Dr Nelson Davis, professor of biology, valued at $50,00"

"Museum of Natural History, which contained illustrative material in archaeology, botany, geology, histology, materia medica, mineralogy, and zoology. In 1892, the museum contained "many valuable birds, worth from $5 to $15 dollars each," which were "perishing from the ravages of insects."

(It is my personal belief that the mastadon tusk that was discovered in Kelly Twp in 1851 was lost in this fire.  It had been on display in a cabinet at Bucknell as late as 1871.)

The equipment of WJBU, the college radio station, was saved.

The cause of the fire was never determined.  

Insurance covered $165,000 of the loss, and a generous $300,000 donation by Daniel C. Roberts helped fund the rebuilding of Old Main.  In November 1937, the central part of the building was renamed Roberts Hall, in honor of the man who funded the rebuild.

Roberts Hall was added to the Pennsylvania Inventory of Historic Places in 1978.

Old Main before the fire

Lewisburg University, later renamed Bucknell, in the 1870s.  Old Main sits high on the hill.

August 1932

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"In 1895, most college men lived in Old Main. In general, each student had his own private sleeping room and shared a study room with another student, but some students shared a dormitory room. The six feet by twelve feet single dormitory rooms were furnished only "with new spring bedsteads," and the student had to supply all other furniture, including bedding and carpets. The study room was twelve feet square. If a student desired a personal study room, his charges for room rent and private fuel were doubled. College men also could have a furnished room with board in the East Hall of the Academy. No boarding was permitted in College buildings. Students boarded in clubs or with private families, with costs ranging from $2.00 to $4.00 per week. Male college men also could board "at the table of the Bucknell Academy at $3.00 per week.""