The Jewel on the Hill By Rachel Phillips Rachel Phillips is a sophomore at William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri. She is an English and History major. After graduating from William Jewell with a Bachelor of Arts Degree, Rachel plans to get her Master s degree in Library Science and Information Services. She is currently a member of Alpha Lambda Delta, the freshmen honor society, and Sigma Tau Delta, the English honor society. In her free time, Rachel enjoys reading, going to the movies, and spending time with family and friends. William Jewell College was established in 1849, but it was not until the fall of 1850 that the construction of the first building, Jewell Hall, began. Before and during the slow rise of the structure, professors taught their small classes in other locations close to the Hill. At first, the Trustees of the newly established college rented rooms in a nearby building, the Liberty Academy. Then, in September of 1850, the students and faculty transferred their classes to the basement of the Second Baptist Church in Liberty. Jewell Hall was named after one of the founders of the college and the overseer of the construction of the building, Dr. William Jewell, who was extremely dedicated to its completion. One day when he arrived at the site to check on the progress of construction, he argued that the base of the building was not stable because it was not deep enough into the ground. He made the workers remove the fifteen-foot tall and sixty-foot long wall that they had built on top of the infrastructure before they could tear up the foundation of the building and start over. This time Dr. Jewell made sure to supervise closely as to make sure that the workers dug all the way to the bedrock. At the time, frustrations were high; today, architects still say that if
he had not made the demand of starting over, Jewell Hall would not be standing today over 150 years later. Also, Dr. Jewell wanted only the best materials used to complete the structure. Unfortunately, despite his dedication, Dr. Jewell never saw the end result of his project. While supervising the construction of Jewell Hall in the late summer of 1852, he collapsed due to a heat stroke, and insisted that Mr. B. McAlister finish the construction according to his original plans. Dr. Jewell died a few days later on August 7. By 1853, Jewell Hall was complete enough that the students and professors could utilize the building. The attic was used as a gymnasium with only a single basketball goal to occupy the students. The first floor served as the library, housing the entire book collection and artifacts that were the beginning of a museum; later, the first floor became the chapel. Side wings of both the second and third floors were student living quarters, while the center of Jewell Hall on those same floors was used as classrooms. Finally, the building construction was completed in 1858. Two years later, William Jewell College shut down temporarily because of the Civil War. About four miles from the campus the Battle of Blue Mills took place in September 1861. The faculty, administration, and students emptied Jewell Hall of its books and artifacts in order to make room for the Union troops. The first floor of the building was used as stables for the soldiers horses. The second and third floors were used as quarters for the soldiers, as well as a hospital for the wounded and sick soldiers. Trenches were built around the hill that Jewell Hall was proudly displayed atop of. Surprisingly, the structure did not suffer from any severe damage but there are rumors that Jewell Hall still has bullet holes in a few bricks to this day. The Union troops left the college
campus in 1865, but William Jewell College did not reopen to students until 1868 due to a lack of finances. In order to compensate for the use of the campus, the United States Congress granted William Jewell College $2,200 in 1891. Once the college returned to financial stability, the trustees agreed to make a few improvements to the interior of Jewell Hall. They all agreed to install steam heat, electricity, and toilets throughout the building so as to make it more modern. However, the original architecture of Jewell Hall remained the same. This included hand-carved oak window headings and four large, white columns. The brick walls were made seventeen inches thick to help prevent fires. The foundation was made of solid stone. The architecture was classic Greek Revival style, and the ornamentation included southern Georgian influences. The lintels that were installed as the decorative trim on the building were made of cast iron, not of wood as they appear to be, which was bought in Cincinnati during construction. Due to the excellent original architecture, the structure itself never really needed any major renovations only minor repairs. However, in 1946 the college did decide to replace the floors, the staircases, and some of the steel supports in Jewell Hall. Running water was installed, the building was fire-proofed even more, and the renovations were completed in the spring of 1948. The cupola, the small tower in the center of the roof, was a part of the original architecture; however, in 1890 the cupola was removed. Then, in 2000, William Jewell College agreed to return Jewell Hall to its original look by rebuilding the cupola, which is how visitors to the campus see it today and how they will always remember it at least, on the outside. On account of its wonderful, long-lasting architecture and its rich historical significance, Jewell Hall was given the honor of being placed on the National Register of Historical Places on
September 6, 1978; a plaque on the front of the building proudly proclaims this achievement. It is also believed to be the oldest educational building west of the Mississippi River. Jewell Hall still more than 150 years later marks the center of the small, but significant, William Jewell College campus, and symbolizes hard work and learning to all who know its accomplishments and history. One can easily see, even from a distance, the jewel on the top of the Hill!
Works Consulted Buhlig, Mark D. "College's Namesake, Dr. William Jewell, Died during Construction." The Kansas City Star 25 Feb. 1999, Advertising Special ed.: n. pag. Print. Cardinal Is Her Color: One Hundred Fifty Years of Achievement at William Jewell College. Liberty, MO: William Jewell College Publications, 1999. Print. The Changing Years; Or Liberty That Was." The Liberty Chronicle 21 May 1942, For Your Scrapbook sec.: n. pag. Print. Clark, James G. History of William Jewell College, Liberty, Clay County, Missouri. St. Louis, MO: Central Baptist Print, 1893. Print. "Cupola Crowns Jewell." Gladstone Sun News 19 Jan. 2000: n. pag. Print. Hester, H. I. Jewell Is Her Name: A History of William Jewell College. Liberty, MO: William Jewell College, 1967. Print. "Jewell Hall Has Proud History." The Student [William Jewell College] 13 Oct. 1977: 1. Print. "Jewell Hall Makes History." The Student [William Jewell College] 2 Nov. 1978: 7. Print. "Landmark at William Jewell Placed On National Register." The Kansas City Star 5 Oct. 1978, Missouri Metro News sec.: n. pag. Print. Students, horses, ghosts part of Jewell Hall history. The Student [William Jewell College] 7 Mar. 1986: 6. Print. William Jewell Today: A Tour Guide of William Jewell College. Liberty: William Jewell College, 1975. Print.