CHESAPEAKE FEMALE COLLEGE (later, SOLDIERS' HOME)
Hampton
Built c. 1854; demolished 1913
Photograph: Virginia Historical Society
This handsome and imposing building overlooking Hampton Roads initially housed the Chesapeake Female College, an
institution of higher education for women. The college rose five stories, the upper four of which were each given a full-facade
veranda; above was a huge dome set on an octagonal drum. Financial problems and the advent of the Civil War contributed
to the school's closure in 1861. Confederate forces reportedly occupied the vacant structure and used its dome to spy on the
Union army at nearby Fort Monroe, until northern forces seized the building and converted it to the Chesapeake Military
Hospital. With the construction of the Hampton Military Hospital for enlisted men, the Chesapeake Military Hospital became
an officers' facility. It was later sold to the United States Government to house the Southern Branch of the National Home
for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. The former college was converted to a dormitory for soldiers.
Next: Main Building, Richmond College
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