100 Years of Pardee

by Katherine Banks

Pardee Hall holds a special place in Milligan history. On October 10, 1919, the new dormitory was dedicated, although the building, named for Milligan donors Mr. and Mrs. Calvin Pardee, was not finished until 1920. It was built as part of the campus rebuilding and expansion after the administration building burned down in 1918. The dorm typically housed men throughout its lifespan, although there were some brief periods that it housed women, including the 1960s. Pardee also served as housing for the men participating in the Navy V-12 program during World War II. The residents of Pardee, known in the later years of the dorm as the “Pardee Rowdies,” were known for their many pranks and practical jokes, but they also had a special affinity for the dorm itself. So it was with sorrow that many of the Rowdies gathered in the summer of 1992 to watch the dorm torn down because it could no longer safely serve the college. Today, the former location of the dorm serves as a field for campus activities – namely Frisbee games – and is marked by a brick wall in the nearby parking lot. A new Pardee Hall stands in the Village housing to carry on the tradition of a beloved hall built one hundred years ago.

Sources:

The Holloway Archives at Milligan College, Milligan College, TN.