Last updated: September 6, 2023
Place
Ayer Hall
Photograph courtesy of the Mississippi State Historic Preservation Office
Quick Facts
Location:
1400 Lynch St., Jackson, Mississippi
Significance:
Black, Education, Social History
Designation:
Listed in the National Register - Reference number 77000788
MANAGED BY:
Ayer Hall on the campus of Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi, was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. The property is significant as the first academic building erected on the Jackson State University campus, an HBCU that arose out of the desire to foster the development of Black teachers and preachers in Mississippi.
Originally established as Natchez Seminary in Natchez, Mississippi, what later became Jackson State was started by American Baptist Home Mission Society of New York in 1877. The creation of Natchez Seminary was part of a long legacy of abolitionist sentiment from northern Protestant churches, which later evolved into a desire to provide education and social support after abolition. Dr. Charles Ayer was tapped to found and run the school, which had the mission of supporting “the moral, religious and intellectual improvement of Christian leaders of the colored people of Mississippi and the neighboring states.”
As more affluent members of the Black community migrated to Jackson, the school decided to move out of Natchez and into Jackson to maintain stronger ties to the community. In 1899, the curriculum was expanded and the name was changed to Jackson College. Ayer Hall, named after Charles Ayer, was built in 1903 for $15,000. Initially, the building served as a dormitory for male students; in the years since, it has held a chapel, classrooms, manual training shop, dean’s quarters, assembly room, women's dormitory, bookstore, post office, nursery, and storage facility.
Facing financial struggle amidst the Great Depression, the American Baptist Home Mission Society was forced to close the school in 1934. In 1940, the school was saved by an act of the Mississippi state legislature, which took control of the school and re-opened it as a training school for Black teachers. Today, Jackson State University is a full research university with undergraduate and graduate programs in the arts and sciences, in addition to teacher education programs.
Originally established as Natchez Seminary in Natchez, Mississippi, what later became Jackson State was started by American Baptist Home Mission Society of New York in 1877. The creation of Natchez Seminary was part of a long legacy of abolitionist sentiment from northern Protestant churches, which later evolved into a desire to provide education and social support after abolition. Dr. Charles Ayer was tapped to found and run the school, which had the mission of supporting “the moral, religious and intellectual improvement of Christian leaders of the colored people of Mississippi and the neighboring states.”
As more affluent members of the Black community migrated to Jackson, the school decided to move out of Natchez and into Jackson to maintain stronger ties to the community. In 1899, the curriculum was expanded and the name was changed to Jackson College. Ayer Hall, named after Charles Ayer, was built in 1903 for $15,000. Initially, the building served as a dormitory for male students; in the years since, it has held a chapel, classrooms, manual training shop, dean’s quarters, assembly room, women's dormitory, bookstore, post office, nursery, and storage facility.
Facing financial struggle amidst the Great Depression, the American Baptist Home Mission Society was forced to close the school in 1934. In 1940, the school was saved by an act of the Mississippi state legislature, which took control of the school and re-opened it as a training school for Black teachers. Today, Jackson State University is a full research university with undergraduate and graduate programs in the arts and sciences, in addition to teacher education programs.