Hardin Hall and McCown Cottage

Q: What two Milligan College campus buildings are named for a father and his daughter?

A: Hardin Hall, built in 1911 and McCown Cottage, built in 1913. Hardin Hall is named for George Duffield Williams Hardin (my paternal great grandfather), Class of 1882, 1st class under the new name “Milligan College." Mr. Hardin became the vice-president of the Eastern Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad, and was a trustee and treasurer of Milligan College 1905-1922. He believed so deeply that “Milligan is of God” that he worked tirelessly to keep it operating. In 1917, he even sold his farm and donated the proceeds whenthe College was $30,000 in debt; by the time he died in 1922, he had given more than $45,000.

A tribute and symbol of the high esteem people held for Mr. Hardin was evidenced when more than 1800 people attended his funeral. Mary (Hardin) McCown, daughter of George, designed the McCown Cottage (my paternal great aunt) as the home for the College presidents. In 1911 Mary came to Milligan as a teacher of modern languages and later mathematics. In 1914, she began the Home Economics Department in the newly erected Hardin Hall.

Hardin Hall:

Built in 1913 and once a residence hall for women, Hardin Hall was renovated in 1992 and now houses the Arnold Nursing Science Center (BSN), McGlothlin-Street Occupational Therapy Center (MSOT), the Price Business Faculty Center, and Wilson Lecture Hall. Hardin is one of the college's main academic buildings located in the Sword Campus Commons.


McCown Cottage:

Built in 1913 as a home for the college president and his family, McCown Cottage was originally designed by Mary Hardin McCown, home economics teacher and daughter of George W. Hardin, the college's treasurer. In 1937 as part of her “Milligan the Beautiful” campaign, first lady Perlea Derthick renovated the home, doubling the size of the upstairs and adding a new entrance and driveway.