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Historic photograph available from the Greenville Historic Society
Furman University moved to Greenville County in 1851 and occupied a site on a hill above the Reedy River purchased from Vardry McBee. Construction of the main building on the new campus began in 1852 and was completed in 1854. The Charleston architecture firm of Lee and Hall was commissioned to design the building. The result was the most architecturally significant building in Furman’s history. Designed in the Italianate style popular in the Victorian era, the main hall consisted of a central section flanked by an east wing and bell tower. Richard Furman Hall was named in honor of the clergyman who had been instrumental in founding the institution. The bell tower would become an enduring symbol of the university. A replica was erected in the lake at the new campus.
[ From “Remembering Greenville: Photographs from the Coxe Collection” by Jeffrey R. Willis. ]
Furman University moved to a new campus 6 miles north of Greenville in 1958. The former site, home to the school for over 100 years, would become a shopping mall, later purchased by Greenville County and known today as County Square. Closer to the Reedy River behind County Square is the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities.
