{"id":10138,"date":"2022-05-03T14:05:46","date_gmt":"2022-05-03T18:05:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=10138"},"modified":"2024-09-10T15:40:21","modified_gmt":"2024-09-10T19:40:21","slug":"before-we-became-george-mason-university-our-first-campus-at-baileys-crossroads-1957-1964","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=10138","title":{"rendered":"Before We Became George Mason University: Our First Campus at Bailey’s Crossroads, 1957-1964"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post is part of a four-part series detailing the history of George Mason University from the student perspective. Other posts in this series include Establishing our Identity: George Mason\u2019s Fairfax Campus<\/strong><\/em>, which can be read here: https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=10152<\/a> and George Mason University Becomes Independent, April 7, 1972<\/em><\/strong>, which can be seen here:\u00a0 https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=10208.<\/a><\/p>\n

George Mason University is celebrating fifty years as an independent university this year, but did you know that Mason was in existence for 15 years prior to April 7, 1972?<\/p>\n

In February of 1956 the Virginia General Assembly approved Joint Resolution No. 5, establishing a Northern Virginia branch of the University of Virginia.\u00a0 The University named the new branch “University College of the University of Virginia.”<\/p>\n

\"George

George Mason College, Baileys Crossroads, December, 1961. From the Richard Sparks photograph collection, RA196112-0001.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

University College opened on September 24, 1957 in a former elementary school in Bailey\u2019s Crossroads, Va. Initial enrollment was 17 freshmen. The college was a two-year branch, offering the opportunity to earn an associate degree. The building had 8 classrooms, no air conditioning, substandard heat, and leaky plumbing. Former occupants have described the climate conditions inside as \u201chot in the summer and cold in the winter\u201d. There were no gathering places for students outside of class, aside from the main hallway and the parking lot outside.\u00a0 The neighboring Bailey\u2019s Crossroads Volunteer Fire Department, offered the college its upstairs bingo hall during the daytime as a \u201clounge\u201d. Students were always prepared for an interruption of their lunch or a student assembly by the deafening clang of the fire bell announcing an incoming call to fire station personnel downstairs.<\/p>\n

\"GMC

George Mason College students listen to Student Government debates, March 23, 1964 in the “Lounge” located at the Baileys Crossroads Volunteer Fire Department. From the Richard Sparks photograph collection, RA196404-23.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"George

George Mason College students and faculty at the Student Faculty Picnic, May 20, 1964. From the Richard Sparks photograph collection, RA196405-20C<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Early student involvement activities included the annual Christmas Dance, held at an Arlington hotel and the Student-Faculty Picnic. Student government debates and elections, held on the second floor of the firehouse, were attended by nearly the entire student body. Students produced a 4-page mimeographed school \u201cnewspaper\u201d called The Perspective<\/em>. In 1963 The Perspective was replaced by The Gunston Ledger<\/em> (which was renamed Broadside<\/em> in 1969).<\/p>\n

\"Final

Final Day Exercises at the Episcopal Seminary (now known as the Virginia Theological Seminary) at 3737 Seminary Road in Alexandria, June 6, 1963. From the George Mason University photograph collection, R0120, Box 1, Folder 8.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Instead of Commencement, University College celebrated \u201cFinal Day Exercises\u201d at the Episcopal Seminary in nearby Alexandria with Director, John Norville Gibson Finley presiding. Finley, a former member of the English Department faculty at Charlottesville, headed up the branch from its inception until the end of 1963. While no caps and gowns were worn at the ceremony, degree candidates dressed to impress in jackets and ties for the men and skirts and blouses or dresses, heels, and gloves for the women.<\/p>\n

\"Letter

Letter from University of Virginia president, Colgate W. Darden, Jr. to University College Director, John Norville Gibson Finley suggesting “George Mason” as a possible new name for the college, June 16, 1959. From the George Mason University Office of the President records, R0004 Box 3.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

During the fall of 1959 administrators in Charlottesville sought a more permanent name for the college. Finley and the student body (about 100 at that time) were presented with three choices: keep the name \u201cUniversity College\u201d or change it to either \u201cNorthern Virginia College\u201d or \u201cGeorge Mason College\u201d. The vote was evenly divided among the three. In December, the University\u2019s Board of Visitors broke the tie by choosing \u201cGeorge Mason\u201d to become effective January 1, 1960.<\/p>\n

The original campus, affectionately called \u201cBailey\u2019s Crossroads University\u201d, or \u201cBXU\u201d by most students, was in service until June of 1964. At the beginning of the next semester, George Mason College would open in four brand new buildings about 1 mile south of the Town of Fairfax.<\/p>\n

The Special Collections Research Center has mounted an exhibit entitled: “We Are Mason: A Student History” celebrating George Mason’s 50th Anniversary and the role students have played in its history. Please visit https:\/\/scrc.gmu.edu\/wearemason.php<\/a> for more information.<\/p>\n

This post is part of a four-part series on George Mason University history from the student perspective. To read the next part please visit https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=10152<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Follow SCRC on Social Media and look out for future posts on our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts. To search the collections held at Special Collections Research Center, go to our website and browse the finding aids by subject or title. You may also e-mail us at speccoll@gmu.edu or call 703-993-2220 if you would like to schedule an appointment, request materials, or if you have questions.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This post is part of a four-part series detailing the history of George Mason University from the student perspective. Other posts in this series include Establishing our Identity: George Mason\u2019s Fairfax Campus, which can be read here: https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=10152 and George Mason University Becomes Independent, April 7, 1972, which can be seen here:\u00a0 https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=10208. George Mason […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,194,529,272,3,94],"tags":[530,261,263],"class_list":["post-10138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-exhibits","category-fairfax-history","category-george-mason-university-history","category-gmu-fairfax-campus","category-news","category-university-archives","tag-530","tag-baileys-crossroads","tag-george-mason-college"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Ep5i-2Dw","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5144,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=5144","url_meta":{"origin":10138,"position":0},"title":"Mason’s Fairfax Campus turns 50!","author":"Bob Vay","date":"September 13, 2014","format":"image","excerpt":"George Mason University's Fairfax Campus turns fifty years old this Sunday.\u00a0 On September 14, 1964 George Mason College of the University of Virginia opened its doors to 356 freshman and sophomores.\u00a0 The faculty, which numbered fifteen,\u00a0comprised\u00a0seven full-time and eight part-time professors. The four original buildings were named North (now known\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fairfax History"","block_context":{"text":"Fairfax History","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=194"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/R0120B01F16.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/R0120B01F16.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/R0120B01F16.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2855,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=2855","url_meta":{"origin":10138,"position":1},"title":"George Mason University\u2019s Earliest Video Footage, Part 1","author":"Bob Vay","date":"October 24, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"This post is Part 1 of 2 parts. Part 2 can be read here. Bailey's Crossroads, George Mason's First Campus During the summer of 1957 University of Virginia President Colgate W. 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Our initial post,\u00a0Before We Became George Mason University: Our First Campus at Bailey\u2019s Crossroads, can be read here:\u00a0https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=10138 and Establishing our Identity: George Mason's Fairfax Campus, can be read here: https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=10152\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "exhibits"","block_context":{"text":"exhibits","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Class_of_1972-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Class_of_1972-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Class_of_1972-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Class_of_1972-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Class_of_1972-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10152,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=10152","url_meta":{"origin":10138,"position":3},"title":"Establishing Our Identity: George Mason’s Fairfax Campus","author":"Bob Vay","date":"June 8, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"This post is part of a four-part series detailing the history of George Mason University from the student perspective. Our initial post, Before We Became George Mason University: Our First Campus at Bailey's Crossroads, can be read here: https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=10138 In August 1964 George Mason College moved from Bailey\u2019s Crossroads to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "exhibits"","block_context":{"text":"exhibits","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/patriot.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/patriot.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/patriot.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11294,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=11294","url_meta":{"origin":10138,"position":4},"title":"New Finding Aid – Richard M. Sparks GMC photograph collection","author":"Meghan Glasbrenner","date":"March 7, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 It's March and your SCRC processing team is back and dedicating this month's full new finding aids blog post to highlighting another photograph collection documenting the early years of Mason history! We're excited to announce that this collection is now fully processed and available for use in the Special\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "George Mason University History"","block_context":{"text":"George Mason University History","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=529"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/RA19651003-002B-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/RA19651003-002B-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/RA19651003-002B-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/RA19651003-002B-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/RA19651003-002B-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/RA19651003-002B-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2992,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=2992","url_meta":{"origin":10138,"position":5},"title":"George Mason University\u2019s Earliest Video Footage, Part 2","author":"Bob Vay","date":"November 14, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"This post is Part 2 of 2 parts. 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