Briggs Hall

Graceland College, Lamoni, Decatur County, Iowa
Briggs Hall was named in honor of George Nathaniel Briggs, Sr., whose longevity record as President of Graceland for 29 years still stands.

In 1919, the RLDS General Conference appropriated $80,000 to construct a three-level classroom on Graceland's campus. RLDS church architect Henry C. Smith designed the building which was erected under his direction. Groundbreaking was done in December of 1919.

The building was of Bedford stone and pressed brick materials and included metal window casings, floor supports and doors. (Note: The metal doors were replaced with glass panel doors in 1927.) Included in the design was a ventilating system and steam heat. The facility was constructed at a final construction cost of approximately $92,000. The first classes held in Briggs Hall met on Monday, April 18, 1921. On the evening of September 16, 1921, Briggs Hall was formally dedicated in an outdoor ceremony at the facility's east side with an estimated audience of 1,200 students, parents and friends. The ceremony's theme was "Going Back to Beginnings" with Daniel Anderson, one of the first Board of Directors, in charge of the services. The band played for over a half an hour while awaiting for Mr. Anderson to begin the ceremony. Bishop T. A. Smith, Bishop Albert Carmichael, W. A. Hopkins (one of the original landowners), Lena (Lambert) Graham (one of the original students) and RLDS Church President Frederick M. Smith presented speeches. Paul Edwards, in his book The Hilltop Where. . ., noted that some attendees remember Jeremiah A. Gunsolley's dedication prayer lasted nearly a half an hour.

In the beginning, the new facility was referred to as "the new building" or "Central Recitation Hall." A few years later during a speech presented at Graceland, Frederick M. Smith parenthetically referred to the "new building" as "Briggs Hall," the inference being long-term [1915 - 1944] Graceland President George N. Briggs. The name stuck. Classrooms were located in the basement and middle floor; the top floor was temporarily used as a dormitory in 1921 to accommodate 50 to 60 female students which included a reception room and a dean's room. The dormitory was called "Bide-A-Wee" but sometimes the same name referred to the entire building prior to the application of the name "Briggs Hall." After the spring of 1929, the partitions on the east side of the top floor were removed to make room for additional classrooms and a library. Eventually the library was expanded to include a portion of the middle floor.

In 1955, after the new Platz-Mortimor Science Building opened, classrooms in Briggs Hall that were previously devoted to home economics, biology, and zoology labs were used for language and literature with offices for the English faculty moved to the basement (formerly the Home Economics Department). During the summer of 1966, office space was extended for the Division of Language and Literature; in 1966, offices for the Division of Social Sciences were added to the middle floor.

In 1966, the library moved from Briggs Hall which inspired a remodeling project for the top floor. This created two large lecture rooms with a seating capacity of approximately 150 each. Six new classrooms and six new faculty offices for the Division of Social Sciences was also created at the same time. In the early 1970's a single door replaced the building's double entry doors. During the summer of 1996, the lecture room on the west side of the top floor was divided to create two classrooms.
The son of Elder Riley William and Clarissa E. "Clara" (Green) Briggs, George Nathaniel Briggs, Sr. was born in Tabor, Iowa on May 10, 1874. He was married first on April 21, 1902, Garden Grove, Iowa, to Carrie Judd (1874 - 1909, inter. Garden Grove IA). George and Carrie were parents of twin daughters, Ruth M. and Elizabeth C. who were born 1904 in the Philippine Islands, Dorothy "Maude" born 1903 in the Philippine Islands. George married second on April 18, 1912, Jackson County, Missouri, to Grace M. Kelly (1885 - 1975). George and Grace were the parents of George N. Jr. born 1914, Washington, D.C., Mary Katherine born 1917 in Iowa, Roland born 1919 in Iowa, Margaret born 1922 in Iowa, and Philip born 1923 in Iowa.

Prior to becoming President of Graceland College, George served with the Philippine Bureau of Education from 1904 - 1910. In 1906 he was appointed division superintendent for Surigao, Cagayan, Misamis, San Fernando, Pampanga and Bataan. George was appointed as President of Graceland College in September of 1915. Two years later, Graceland College was accredited by the States of Iowa and Missouri and the North Central Association of Colleges, becoming Iowa's first fully accredited junior college.

George received his Bachelors of Didactics degree in 1893, Iowa State Teachers College at Cedar Falls; Teaching Certification, January 1, 1895, University of Iowa, Iowa City; undergraduate law studies, Drake University, Des Moines; graduate studies, Chicago University and University of Minnesota; receiving an honorary LL.D in 1923. On April 7, 1916, George was ordained high priest in the RLDS Church. He resigned as President of Graceland College and was named "President Emeritus" of the board and college.

George died on December 26, 1952. Grace was born in Missouri on March 23, 1885, and died in November of 1975, Des Moines, Iowa. George and Grace were interred at Rose Hill Cemetery, Lamoni, Iowa.
 
 
SOURCES: Goehner, David. “The Graceland College Book of Knowledge: From A To Z.” Pp. 37-8. Herald House. Independence MO. 1997.
Rose Hill Cemetery transcription
Transcription and note by Sharon R. Becker, November 2015; updated February 2017
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These pages have been updated and reformatted by Conni McDaniel Hall, October 2019
 
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