WVU Libraries

WVU campus drawings by an architect who designed or remodeled many campus buildings are now available in the West Virginia and Regional History Collection (WVRHC) through a donation by the family last year.

Beginning in the late 1950s and up into the 1980s, Robert J. Bennett was involved in much work at WVU. His designs included the Chemistry Building Annex (’66), Knapp Hall (’65), the Evansdale Library (’78), and others including several renovations.

His estate donated the drawings, more than a score, through Bennett’s wife, Jacqueline R. Bennett, and daughter Sandy Bennett Taylor. Bennett died in 1996.

The drawings have been processed by the WVRHC and became available the first of October.

“We are really pleased to have this documentation of many of our buildings and their renovations available as a resource for those who seek additional knowledge about our campus,” said John Cuthbert, curator. “And we certainly appreciate the generosity of the Bennett family in making this important donation to enhance our archival materials.”

Mountaineer Spirit

A look inside the West Virginia and Regional History Collection at WVU.
West Virginia University Alumni Magazine v.23:no.3 (Fall 2000)

by John Cuthbert

The author is curator of the West Virginia and Regional History Collection of the WVU Libraries.

It has often been said that history holds the keys to unlocking the future. If there is even a kernel of truth to this statement, then surely the West Virginia and Regional History Collection of the WVU Libraries is an asset that will prove to be invaluable to the citizens of West Virginia as we struggle to meet the new challenges of the next millennium. As the primary keeper of the historical record of the Mountain State, the West Virginia Collection has a formidable number of keys at its disposal.

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