Waldo Hall in the 1920 Beaver yearbook, and a poem reflecting gender relations in the era.
'T was ever so since time began,
You see it where soe'r you roam,
The brain of man, the house may plan,
But women's heart must build the home.
This historical exhibit tells the story of Waldo Hall on the Oregon State University campus in Corvallis. Built in 1907, the hall stands next to the baseball field and was named after Clara Humason Waldo, the first women member of the Board of Regents of Oregon Agricultural College and noted supporter of the grange and women’s causes. Designed by Albany architect Charles H. Burggraf in a modified Victorian style, it served as a women’s dormitory, housed the School of Domestic Science and Art, and offered rooms to unmarried women faculty members. Over the years it has served different functions in the curriculum, residential life, and extra-curricular activities of the campus as the university grew and changed. Understanding the place of Waldo illuminates the movement of women from the margins to the center of university education, provides avenues of connection to Oregon State history, and sheds light on the process of campus planning and design.