Chronicles: Speaking Volumes McCormick Library, located in the current Huntley Hall, was the university's main library from 1908 to 1979.

By Jessica Luck
August 19, 2025

The University Library at Washington and Lee has had several homes over the years, including, from 1908 to 1979, the building now named Huntley Hall. In 1905, philanthropist Andrew Carnegie gave the university $50,000 to use for the building and maintenance of a library, which opened in September 1908 with 40,000 volumes and a capacity for five times that number. The building was originally crowned by a copper dome that was lost during renovations in 1940. The family of Cyrus H. McCormick, the Rockbridge County native who invented the mechanical reaper and was a generous friend of the university, funded the renovations for the library, which was then named in honor of the family.

In 1975, plans were made to build a new university library with a larger footprint to better serve the W&L community. On Jan. 10, 1979, faculty, staff, students and members of the Lexington community loaded books from McCormick Library into shopping bags supplied by the Leggett department store and carried them to their new home in what is now Leyburn Library on Stemmons Plaza.

One of the priority projects of the Leading Lives of Consequence campaign is a renovation of Huntley Hall, the current home of the Williams School of Commerce, Economics and Politics — the only internationally accredited, undergraduate business program among top liberal arts institutions. Additionally, due to a crucial need for more classrooms, offices and community spaces to support faculty and student research and collaboration, the university is constructing a new building for the Williams School on West Washington Street, set to be complete in advance of Fall Term 2025.

The renovations at Huntley will create a three-story, multi-use hub for formal and informal gatherings, special events and community-building, with classrooms and meeting spaces outfitted with state-of-the-art technology. The building improvements will allow for smaller class sizes and enhanced networking and professional development opportunities for students.

This article first appeared in the Spring 2025 issue of W&L: The Washington and Lee Magazine. Contact us at magazine@wlu.edu.