Old North College 1866 Historic Site

Installed in a circular landscaped area south of Gertrude Sellards Pearson and west of Corbin residence halls are several artifacts of KU’s earliest days.

These include the threshold and a stone windowsill from North College, the first structure on Mount Oread, which opened on the site in 1866 and was demolished in 1919; and a cast-iron fire basket, the 1927 gift of the Torch chapter of Mortar Board, a scholastic honorary society. The fire basket was used for several decades in freshman induction ceremonies; a version of the ritual survives in Tradition Night observances.