Inventory of the Bassett Residence Hall records,
1950-1979
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Descriptive Summary
Repository
University Archives, Duke
University
Creator
Duke University. Bassett Residence Hall.
Title
Bassett Residence Hall records, 1950-1979
Language of Material
Material in English
Extent
1.5 Linear Feet
1500 Items
Abstract
Completed and occupied in the spring of 1927, Bassett Hall was first known as Dormitory No. 4. Bassett Residence Hall was home to female undergraduate students from the 1930s through the early 1990s.
Types of material included in this collection are: correspondence, constitutions, financial summaries, minutes, notes, newsletters, clippings, a biography, rules, and scrapbooks. Major subjects include: Duke University, Trinity College, Bassett Hall, living groups, and female students. Materials date from 1950-1979.
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Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
Patrons must sign the Acknowledgement of Legal Responsibility and Privacy Rights form before using this collection.
Collection is open for research.
In off-site storage; 24 hours advance notice is required for use.
Copyright Notice
Copyright for Official University records is held by Duke University; all other copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Bassett Residence Hall records, University Archives, Duke University.
Provenance
The Bassett Residence Hall records were received by the University Archives as a
transfer in 1980.
Processing Information
Processed by Emily Glenn, January 2003
Encoded by Kimberly Sims, September 2006
Accession A80-20 is described in this finding aid.
Descriptive sources and standards used to create this inventory: DACS, EAD, NCEAD guidelines, and our local Style Guide.
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
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Historical Note
Completed and occupied in the spring of 1927, Bassett Hall was first known as Dormitory No. 4. Like the other dormitories in the East Campus Georgian quadrangle, Dormitory No. 4 was designed to accommodate approximately 110 people and originally contained fifty single rooms, thirty double rooms, three parlors, a suite for the head of the house, kitchenette, pressing room, reception room, and offices. In 1930, it was renamed in honor of John Spencer Bassett, a professor of history at Trinity College (now Duke University).
Bassett Residence Hall was home to female undergraduate students from the 1930s through the early 1990s. The Omicron chapter of the Alpha Delta Pi sorority lived in Bassett Residence Hall from 1930-1935. Over the years, general direction for residential living groups came from Duke University, Trinity College and the Woman's College.
The women of Bassett Residence Hall also relied on the guidance and rules of the Women's Student Government Association, the Women's Residence Council, the Freshman Advisory Council, and the Baldwin Federation. The Baldwin Federation was established in 1974 to represent interests of undergraduate residents of Alspaugh, Basset, Brown, and Pegram Houses. As of 2006, Bassett Residence Hall remains co-ed and non-selective.
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Collection Overview
Contains minutes of house meetings, financial summaries, house notebooks, a questionnaire, materials for new students, newsletters, general rules, and scrapbooks pertaining to the undergraduate female residents of Bassett Residence Hall at Duke University from 1950-1979.
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Subject Headings
These are searchable subject entries for this collection. Performing a search on these subjects in the Duke University Libraries online catalog will bring up other related research materials.
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Related Material
Arts and Sciences Council records
Duke University Archives
Association of Independent Houses records
Duke University Archives
Baldwin Federation records
Duke University Archives
Few Federation records
Duke University Archives
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Detailed Description of Collection
Bassett Residence Hall governance and activities, 1950-1979, undated, 1950-1979, undated
Contains correspondence with new and returning students (also includes some photographs), house officer duties and lists, constitutions and some revisions, general house rules, minutes of monthly House Council meetings, notebooks kept by the house president, clippings, and a brief biography of John Spencer Bassett.
Box 1
Correspondence, 1968
Correspondence, 1969, 1979
Council officers, duties and lists, 1954-1970
Constitutions, 1965-1969
Financial, 1972-1979
Minutes, 1948-1979
Box 2
President's Notebooks, 1953-1962
General house rules, 1964-1969
Resident questionnaire, 1968
The Houndstooth newsletter, circa 1969
Freshman Week and Freshman Advisory Council, 1966-1968
Fliers and announcements, circa 1968-1969
Clippings, 1950-1962
Biography of John Spencer Bassett, undated
Advisory and governance groups, 1954-1979
Contains general correspondence, recommendations, and rules pertaining to the governance and organization of residence halls for women. The Baldwin Federation file pertains to residence hall governance and planning as part of a group of East Campus dormitories.
Box 2
Baldwin Federation, circa 1977-1979
Freshman Advisory Council, 1954-1955
Women's Student Government Association, circa 1967-1969
Women's Residence Council, 1969
General Woman's College, Trinity College, and Duke University rules for female residents, 1968-1979
Scrapbooks, 1962-1967
Contains scrapbooks created by residents of Bassett Hall. The scrapbooks contain photographs, clippings, short writings, and some correspondence. Ordered by date.
Box 3
Scrapbook 1, 1962-1963
Scrapbook 2, 1965-1966
Scrapbook 3, circa 1966-1967
