History of Brockport Normal in Brockport NY, its buildings and physical plant

Lennon, Willam

English

The College at Brockport, State University of New York: Digital Commons @Brockport

The College at Brockport: State University of New York
Digital Commons @Brockport
Papers on the History of the College at Brockport College Archives
5-1907
The History of Our School Building
Willam Lennon
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Repository Citation
Lennon, Willam, "The History of Our School Building" (1907). Papers on the History of the College at Brockport. 38.
http://digitalcommons.brockport.edu/student_archpapers/38
A 1907 History of Brockport Normal by Professor William Lennon 
(Documents and introduction June 2013 by the College Archivist.) 
 
   The following history of the school ran in the May 1907 issue of the Normalia, the predecessor to the 
Stylus. It was written by William Lennon, a science professor and administrator at the school. Today’s 
Lennon Hall is named after him. Below is a brief biography of Lennon and a photograph of him ca1875. 
Following that is an image of the cover of the original issue, with the actual article, and after that a 
postcard image of the school from 1907, and a section of a plat map of 1902, depicting the location of 
the school.  
   A few historical notes:  the buildings Lennon describes stood in approximately the same location as  
the present day Hartwell Hall.  The complex of buildings Lennon knew in 1907 stood for another thirty 
years and then were torn down and replaced by the building later named 
Hartwell Hall. Lennon’s short history is an especially valuable document 
because of its focus on the physical plant of this now long vanished 
building complex, giving many vivid and fascinating details about the 
spiral staircases in the early building, the individual coal stoves in rooms 
prior to the installation of central steam heating, the little museum, the 
sparsely furnished classrooms and so on. 
   The author, William Lennon, pictured here about 1875, was a science 
teacher at Brockport, and later the vice-principal (i.e. vice-president) from 
1869-1911. A native of Rensselaerville in Albany County, he was born in 
1838, went to high school in Binghamton, and attended Genesee College 
in Lima NY (which later became a part of Syracuse University.) 
   He was a keen meteorologist and maintained a weather station at the 
school for many years; thus the meteorology program of today has a long history at Brockport! He had 
many other scientific interests, and was mentioned in the local paper in 1901 as demonstrating 
"wireless telegraphy equipment." Lennon was a member of several scientific associations, including the 
American Association for the Advancement of Science. Today's Lennon Hall is named after him. 
   He was close to the students; in his obituary from 1913 it noted that "No interested student, no matter 
how backward, was refused assistance, and no teacher more thoroughly enjoyed the innocent pranks of 
pupils than did Professor Lennon." He maintained close ties with alumni as well. The beginnings of 
today's Alumni Association go back to several different groups, for example one that met in the New 
York City area, and another which was for those in western New York. Lennon was a regular and sought 
after visitor to the annual meetings of both groups. 










The History of Our School Building

https://digitalcommons.brockport.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1037&amp;context=student_archpapers

The History of Our School Building

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