VMI Archives
archives@vmi.edu
540-464-7516
Virginia Military Institute (VMI) was founded on the site of a Virginia State Arsenal and opened its doors to cadets on November 11, 1839. For more than a decade, cadets were housed in the old arsenal barracks, wholly inadequate to meet the needs of a modern college with a growing student body. Superintendent Francis H. Smith worked with the noted American architect Alexander Jackson Davis to design new buildings for the Institute, among them a new barracks, which was designated as National Historic Landmark in 1965.
Use the timeline below to explore the history of barracks from 1839 to the present day.
1839: The first cadets occupied the State Arsenal building, which was constructed in 1816 and in disrepair. Superintendent Francis H. Smith later said that "the whole establishment presented the appearance of a prison."
1848-1851: Smith, with the enthusiastic support of VMI Board of Visitors member Philip St. George Cocke, embarked upon efforts to secure funding for building projects, including a new barracks.
1851: The Virginia Legislature appropriated $30,000 in support of the barracks. Smith worked with Alexander Jackson Davis to finalize plans for a massive brick and stucco structure, a quadrangle that was to measure 225 feet by 326 feet. The cornerstone was laid on July 4, 1851.
1851 September: The front, or south, façade of barracks (today's Washington Arch façade) was completed, and cadets occupied the quarters on September 24th. The building also included classrooms, one of which was occupied by the newly hired professor of Natural Philosophy, Major Thomas J. Jackson. The State Arsenal Building was dismantled.
1851-1859: The barracks expansion continued with work on the East and West wings. By 1859, the Parade Ground (West) façade had reached the large tower where Jackson Arch stands today. With the expansion the barracks took the shape of a capital letter J.
1860 May: Excavation started for an extension of the East wing. The Civil War ended construction in 1861, with the East wing reaching toward the edge of the cliff over Woods Creek.
1864 June: Barracks and other buildings were burned by General David Hunter.
1866-1869: Barracks was rebuilt, and the East wing finished. The building remained essentially unchanged for the next 25 years.
1893-1896: The VMI Board of Visitors decided to honor Stonewall Jackson with a memorial hall. The Board endorsed the plan of alumnus Isaac E. A. Rose who created an elaborate Gothic extension to Davis' parade façade of barracks. This addition was torn down in 1915 and only the Jackson Arch portion was retained. The barracks is now in the shape of a capital letter U.
1900: A classroom building named in honor of Francis H. Smith was constructed at the North end of the quadrangle. The building was designed by William G. McDowell of Lexington, Virginia.
1914: Architect Bertram Goodhue was commissioned by the VMI Board of Visitors to evaluate the design of post and to address the issue of long-range planning. Goodhue recommended the demolition of the non-Davis portions of barracks, including Jackson Memorial Hall and the Smith academic building. These recommendations aligned with Alexander Jackson Davis’ original plan of a complete quadrangle with a symmetrical façade facing the Parade Ground.
1915-1916: Old Jackson Memorial Hall (the addition designed by Isaac E. A. Rose) was torn down and replaced with cadet rooms designed by Bertram Goodhue. The Parade Ground façade is now symmetrical with cadet rooms on both sides of Jackson Arch.
1923: The Smith academic building was torn down and replaced by the North wing of barracks. The quadrangle originally conceived by Alexander Jackson in 1851 was now completed.
1948-1949: Construction of "New Barracks," standing diagonally to the North West of the West wing finishes. It was occupied by cadets in September 1949, with the primary entrance through Marshall Arch. A concourse level in the rear housed the military store, tailor shop, and other support services.
<p><strong>2006-2009</strong>: Third Barracks was constructed where Lejeune Hall once stood. In addition to increasing the available number of cadet rooms, the new wing incorporates a Visitor’s Center, bookstore, and the Post Exchange (PX). </p>