The massive building burned in January 1959, but it remains the focal point of countless stories told and retold by generations of Mississippi State alumni. Some of the bricks from the ruins were used to build another treasured landmark, the Chapel of Memories. About 1,100 students occupied Old Main at the end. For years, virtually all male students called it home. Dr. Charles Lowery and Dr. Roy Scott researched the history of the grand old building, wrote the text, and collected intriguing photos from many sources to produce this special book.
Publication is slated for next spring.
They came from the state' s farms, towns, and cities to study agriculture, engineering, and other disciplines and to live in the spartan rooms of Old Main. They might complain of its drafty windows, dark halls, and primitive plumbing, but they found comfort and reassurance in its solidity and apparent indestructibility. Other buildings, to say nothing of professors and students, might come and go, but Old Main, located in the center of the campus, would remain forever, or so they thought. . . . The first class of cadets, when they finally were able to move into their rooms in the spring of 1881, were furnished with wooden bedsteads and nothing else. . . . By the late 1920s, most rooms were equipped with three beds, one table, three chairs, and one bureau with three drawers.