In what could be called the latest chapter in the history of the college, Eastern Washington State College was awarded university status because of its expanding programs and became Eastern Washington University in 1977. In recent years the college is once again undergoing a period of expansion that can be seen right here.

The steel frame before you is part of Patterson Hall. Patterson Hall was built in two phases, the first in 1970 and the second in 1971. At the time of its completion is was one of the largest facilities on campus and provided much needed classroom and academic department space for the ever expanding college. However like many other campus buildings in the last 20 years it has found itself outpaced by Eastern's growth. Except for a downturn in student enrollment in the late 1990's Eastern Washington University's expansion has been continuous since the end of World War II.

In light of the need for increased student capacity (and modern facilities) the decision was made in 2009 to strip Patterson of everything but its steel frame and a portion of the back wall; and create an almost entirely new building. The new facility was completed in 2014 and is expected to meet the needs of a college that has seen another noticeable increase in student enrollment in the last fifteen years.

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The next couple of decades after World War II were arguably the most rapid period of growth this institution has ever seen. As part of this expansion certain facilities that had previous been in a shared building needed their own buildings. The John F. Kennedy Library before you is one such example.

The Bigger the College, the Bigger the Library

The first library was located in the original administration building and unfortunately it also burn down with the original administration building. A new library was set up in Showalter Hall and remained the college library until 1940. By that year the amount of books and other materials collected by the college library had become to big to simply be housed in one room in Showalter Hall and a purpose built facility was set up inside Hargreaves Hall. 25 years later Hargreaves Hall had become inadequate to hold an even bigger collection and the JFK Library before you was finished in 1967. The JFK Library itself was given an extensive renovation and expansion from 1995 to 1998 to increase capacity.

Not Just for School Teachers

Shortly after the renaming of the college new programs were added that were designed for preparing students for other careers besides teaching. This began with secretarial classes in 1939, and quickly expended into other programs. By 1961 the college had firmly shifted toward a liberal arts focus and away from being strictly a teachers college. To reflect this change the name of the college was changed again from the Eastern Washington College of Education to Eastern Washington State College.

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Unlike the rest of the campus buildings the schoolhouse you see before you was never intended to be part of a college campus. Instead this building was created to teach the children of another community a few hours north of here.

Built in 1905 this one room schoolhouse is the oldest building on campus (although not erected on campus). It served the children of the community of Jore, another pioneering community that unlike Cheney is no longer in existence. The site of this community lies about five miles west of Newport, Washington (about an hour and a half north of here) and the Jore School was in use for 24 years before it was abandoned in 1924.

After being abandoned for nearly a century the abandoned schoolhouse was rediscovered by a college faculty member (Professor Miller) in 2000. Professor Miller decided to bring the school to Eastern Washington University and the schoolhouse was prepared for transport. The roof was disassembled and the foundation was replaced by wheels. Once the school house was reassembled and restored it was renamed the Cheney Normal School Heritage Center and stands today as a tribute to the colleges history of training teachers for the rural schools of Eastern Washington.

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By the 1922-1923 school year the Cheney State Normal School had undoubtedly achieved success as a teachers training college. At the end of that year the school graduated 1,764 students with teaching degrees. With this growth came a possibly risky introduction into the campus life of the Normal School introduced by Sutton Hall in 1923.
Men
Although a certain number of men had always been enrolled in the predominantly female Normal School, Sutton Hall was the first male dormitory. It was built from 1922 to 1923 and opened in 1923. Sutton Hall is named after William J. Sutton who served as the president of the Cheney State Normal School from 1892 to 1897 and was later elected as a State Senator. In both jobs he was a constant advocate for the Normal School. Sutton Hall's use as a dorm was discontinued around the same time as Monroe and Senior hall. In 1996 a renovation to house student service functions completely changed the interior of the building.
For Their Own Good
In stark contrast to today student behavior was regulated just as much as academic study. In a policy consistent with many other colleges at the time. During the 1913 to 1914 school year their was a list of rules known as services rendered and policies to be obeyed that gave faculty members sole jurisdiction over any and all social functions. The policies were revised for the 1916-1917 school year which specified that there was to be a chaperon at parties, picnics, or any other social function. Although not explicitly stated one of the primary purposes of these strict codes was to keep the young men and women away from each other.

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The building you are now facing is called Senior Hall. Unlike most of Eastern's facilities, Senior Hall is not named after any particular person. In its original design Senior Hall was very similar to Monroe Hall. Rapid growth of both the college and the surrounding community almost outpaced planners. Only a few years after completing the college's first dormitory, the Normal School soon found itself in need of another women's dorm. Construction of Senior Hall began in 1919 to meet this need, and the building was mostly completed the following year, although financial problems held up work on the third floor until 1925.

Senior Hall continued to be used as a dorm until the 1970s when it was repurposed to house Vietnam Veterans. After only a few years, Senior Hall was declared unfit for student housing due to old wiring, outdated fire safety measures, and an inability to keep up with modern building codes. In 2006 it received an extensive renovation largely focused on updating the interior.

There were male students at the Normal School from the beginning, but women were in the majority. Teaching was a unique field in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century in that it was considered acceptable for women when other opportunities were limited. Although hardly uncommon today, this stood in stark contrast to many other professions at the time.

One of the enduring urban legends of EWU is the haunting of Senior Hall. People reported hearing creaks and groans in the hallways and rooms, especially at night. However, there is no evidence of deaths during construction or suicides by residents in the building's history, or indeed any kind of suspicious activity. Modern belief is that the sounds were simply those of an old building cooling down, which triggered overactive imaginations, particularly among overworked graduate students.

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By the middle of the nineteenth century the Cheney State Normal School continued to expand in spite of the disastrous fire. Only a year after Showalter Hall was built it was apparent that the increasing prominence of the Normal School and the town of Cheney required a dormitory. The building you are now facing is that dorm.

Called Monroe Hall this is the second oldest building erected on campus. It was completed in the fall of 1916 less than a year after Showalter Hall was completed. In its original form Monroe Hall was designed to hold 90 women and included a social lounge and a large dining room with a kitchen. Monroe Hall continued to be used as a dorm until is was turned into office facilities in 1968. A prominent addition to the exterior of the building was added as part of a renovation in 2000. The dorm was a much needed audition as the Cheney State Normal School was entering a new era of growth and development that would not be interrupted by fire.

Monroe Hall also represented the first time that a prominent faculty members had a building dedicated to them (Showalter Hall would not receive its name until 1940). Benjamin P. Cheney had the original academy named after him but he was a distant benefactor having only made two high profile appearances in the City of Cheney. Showalter Hall was named after Noah David Showalter who was installed as the ninth president of the Cheney State Normal School in 1911 and whose tenure lasted until 1926. Monroe Hall was named after Mary A. Monroe who came to the college in 1913 as a member of the board of trustees, the first woman to serve on the board.

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The building you are now facing is Showalter Hall, the oldest building on campus dating back to EWU's second incarnation as a teachers college. Throughout the history of EWU its development has been closely linked to the development of the local area.

Washington Territory became Washington State In November, 1889, which precipitated rapid growth in the eastern region. Before long Spokane County began to coalesce, and the residents of Cheney in particular intended their town to be the county seat and biggest settlement. By 1889, however, Cheney had lost the competition to Spokane Falls (renamed Spokane in 1891). Nevertheless, the increase in population came along with a demand for more school teachers.

Beginning in the 1880s, the territorial government began to plan a new teachers' college for Eastern Washington. At the time, most places in the United States had established Normal Schools, institutions the sole purpose of which were training school teachers. Organizers chose the site of the recently-defunct Benjamin P. Cheney academy building in1890 and classes began immediately. Unfortunately, a fire of unknown cause consumed it in 1891, but the Normal School reopened later that year after temporary headquarters were found. Two new structures (an administration building and teacher training building) were added by 1896 and 1908 respectively.

In 1912 the original administration building was destroyed in a second fire and was replaced by Showalter Hall in 1915. The teacher training building was demolished in 1940.

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