Epworth Hall

419 NE 1st Street, Gainesville, FL

Epworth Hall was erected in 1884 when the need for adequate classrooms in the East Florida Seminary became a pressing problem. Funds for construction of the building were raised through private donation with a scholarship promised to those patrons who gave at least one hundred dollars. The construction contract was awarded to J.O. Goodale on a low bid of $11,000. The building was completed in 1884 and served as a classroom building until the Seminary was abolished by the legislature in a 1905 act which provided for the establishment of the University and the State College for Women. In 1906, the University of Florida held its first classes in Epworth Hall. The property was purchased from the State of Florida in 1911 by the Trustees of the First United Methodist Church. It was at this time that the building was named Epworth Hall. (It had never been officially given a name). Today, Epworth Hall is all that is left of the East Florida Seminary.

Epworth Hall has played a very significant role in the development of Florida’s educational system in that it was an integral part of the campuses of both the East Florida Seminary and the University of Florida.

Epworth Hall is a National Register of Historic Places.

TAGS: All,All,19th Century