Davie Hall at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Constructed in 1908, Davie Hall was originally home to for botany and zoology studies. The building was reconstructed in 1967 with a modern design and now houses the Psychology and Neuroscience Departments. Davie Hall is named after William Richardson Davie, a General in the American Revolution who later became the Governor of North Carolina. Davie is remembered as the father of the University of North Carolina because of his support of the university as governor, general assembly member, and member of the University of North Carolina Board of Trustees.

Davie Hall was originally built in 1908 and was reconstructed and expanded by the university in 1967. Davie Hall currently houses the Psychology and Neuroscience Departments. The building is named after William Richardson Davie, a General in the American Revolution from 1777 to 1778 under General Allen Jones. Davie became an attorney after the war and later became a political leader. Davie also served on the University of North Carolina’s Board of Trustees from 1789 to 1807. He donated funds that enabled the children of donors of the university to receive a free education.  

Davie represented North Carolina at the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787. There, he aided in the ratification movement in North Carolina. He got the bill in the General Assembly to pass in order to charter the University of North Carolina.

Davie was Governor of North Carolina from 1798 to 1799. Davie is remembered as one of the fathers of the University of North Carolina owing to his early support as a politician and as his service as a member of the University of North Carolina Board of Trustees. From 1799 to 1800, Davie was the Minister of France, but he continued aiding the university during this time. Davie later died at his plantation in South Carolina in 1820 at the age of 64. At that time, he enslaved 116 individuals. 

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Larson, Jennifer L. William R. Davie: UNC's Founding Father. Documenting the American South. Accessed November 21, 2018. https://docsouth.unc.edu/highlights/davie.html. 

Governor and UNC Founder William Davie Died. NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. Accessed November 21, 2018.  https://www.ncdcr.gov/blog/2012/11/05/unc-founder-william-davie-died. 

William R. Davie (1756-1820) and Davie Hall. The Carolina Story: A Virtual Museum of University History. Accessed November 22, 2018. https://museum.unc.edu/exhibits/show/names/davie-hall.

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The Carolina Story: A Virtual Museum of University History. The Carolina Story: A Virtual Museum of University History. Accessed November 22, 2018, https://museum.unc.edu/exhibits/show/names/davie-hall.

Davie Hall. Names in Brick and Stone: Histories from UNC's Built Landscape. Accessed November 22, 2018. http://unchistory.web.unc.edu/prsp-record/davie-hall/.

Davie Hall. Names in Brick and Stone: Histories from UNC's Built Landscape. Davie Hall. Names in Brick and Stone: Histories from UNC's Built Landscape. Accessed November 22, 2018, http://unchistory.web.unc.edu/prsp-record/davie-hall/.