Boreman Hall is a

residence hall A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm), also known as a hall of residence, a residence hall (often abbreviated to halls), or a hostel, is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential qu ...

on the campus of

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Ins ...

Morgantown, West Virginia Morgantown is a city in Monongalia County, West Virginia, United States, and its county seat. It is situated along the Monongahela River in North Central West Virginia and is the home of West Virginia University. The population was 30,347 at the 2 ...

. 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 St ...

, 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 An organism's sex is female ( symbol: ♀) if it produces the ovum (egg cell), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete (sperm cell) during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females and ...

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 (; whence, "wikt:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal order traditionally of men but also women associated together for various religious or secular ...

houses,

boarding house A boarding house is a house (frequently a family home) in which lodging, lodgers renting, rent one or more rooms on a nightly basis and sometimes for extended periods of weeks, months, or years. The common parts of the house are maintained, and ...

s, 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 United States Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes. It was ...

which was a

New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...

agency set up during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

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 (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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 buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

. Prominent dents in the doors of Boreman hall could still be seen as recently as 2024, remnants of Drill Instructors striking to doors sharply with

rifle A rifle is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting and higher stopping power, with a gun barrel, barrel that has a helical or spiralling pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus o ...

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 or student union, 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, organizatio ...

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 Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

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 residential buildings in West Virginia 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.