“Change is the constant, the signal for rebirth, the egg of the phoenix,” wrote Christina Baldwin. Guilford College laid its egg in 1877, but it wasn’t until 1885 that Phoenix Hall was born.
Out of the ashes of another arose a building, Phoenix Hall – later named Archdale – with a legacy that continues 121 years after its birth. Erected in 1885, Archdale Hall is the oldest building at Guilford College.
In 1877, King Hall I was built to act as a Quaker yearly meeting house. Seven years later, it burned to the ground. Brick by brick, male students of Guilford carried down the remnants from the ashes of King and constructed their own residence hall on a budget of $6,101.29.
Each brick within Archdale is as old as the other and has the spirit of the original King Hall within its walls. Students wanted to name the building Phoenix Hall because it arose out of the ashes, but the school denied their request. Instead, it became Archdale Hall, named after Quaker John Archdale, governor of North Carolina from 1694 to 1696.
Alexander Stoesen, a former professor of history at Guilford and author of “Guilford College on the Strength of 150 Years,” wrote, “the importance of this construction cannot be overstated, since it brought a spirit of growth and change to a place where the main characteristics had been mere survival.”
Archdale has been through enormous transformation within its 121 years of life. From its birth, it served as a male dormitory with the exception of a few years during World War I, when it housed women.
It was a great living area “with its good, light and airy rooms furnished with good hardwood furniture, marble-top wash-stands and single beds,” wrote Dorothy Lloyd Gilbert in “Guilford, A Quaker College.”
“(When) I lived in it, it was a residence hall (and) we had such a nice cohesive group,” said Elwood Parker, professor of mathematics and a Guilford graduate,. “(We would) play cards, mess around – this was before we had TV’s. That’s what happened downstairs. If we would want to take a break, we’d head downstairs because there was always something going on.”
Archdale was a social dorm where students enjoyed the company of one another and hung out on the downstairs floor.
Legend has it that a student shot his initials into the ceiling of his room. However, in 1927, Guilford did extensive renovations and remodeled the entire building, adding indoor plumbing, porches and a central stairwell.
Legend also has it that within the building, students shot chickens as they did on campus. However, there are no records of chickens being shot in Archdale.
“My wife’s grandfather lived in that building (until) 1889,” recounted Stoesen. “I moved into (Archdale) in 1966. There was one telephone and (a) broken typewriter in an office with a secretary. Look at it now, everyone has a computer.”
In 1965, Archdale was converted into offices for faculty. According to fire code standards, the building was not fit for students to sleep in. For the last 41 years, Archdale has served the Guilford community as a home for our fabulous faculty.
Presently, the English, philosophy and history departments are housed in Archdale. Rumor has it that Guilford will yet again renovate Archdale and bring back its original hardwood floors and high ceilings. Maybe we can discover again if the gunshot legends are true.