Morris Brown College announced it received an award from the National Park Service (NPS) Historically Black Colleges and Universities Grant Program to start the restoration of the historic Fountain Hall.
The restoration also includes two stained glass windows honoring Atlanta University’s Founder Reverend E. A. Ware and his wife Jane Twichwell Ware. Built in 1882, the then Stone Hall, was the third oldest building on the Atlanta University campus. The late Black intellectual, professor and author Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois’ office was in Fountain Hall. Legend has it he looked through the windows toward downtown Atlanta as he penned “The Souls of Black Folk (1903).” Du Bois also wrote “A Litany of Atlanta” (October, 1906) immediately following the 1906 Atlanta Race Massacre, which will commemorate the 115th Remembrance September 22-25, 2021.
Morris Brown College, the Friends of Fountain Hall, and the Atlanta Branch of Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) will leverage the NPS HBCU grant to attract matching donations from the larger corporate community for a full accreditation campaign and the full window treatment.
“Fountain Hall is an iconic symbol of Morris Brown College,” Morris Brown College president Dr. Kevin James said. “I liken it to strength and perseverance. A historical landmark built in the 1882 by former slaves. People who have come through Morris Brown College are very familiar with Fountain Hall. They took classes there, they had chapel there, they joined fraternities and sororities in the building. Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois’ office was on the second floor so it’s historic in nature itself…”