Mississippi Synodical College

For other uses, see Synodical College.

Mississippi Synodical College
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	220 College Avenue, Holly Springs, Mississippi, U.S.
Built	1903
NRHP reference No.	83000960
Added to NRHP	April 20, 1983

The Mississippi Synodical College is a historic building in Holly Springs, Mississippi, USA. Formerly a religious college, it is home to the Marshall County Historical Society and Museum. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1983.

History

The building was built to house the Mississippi Synodical College in 1903. ^{[1] [2]} The building is located at 220 College Avenue in Holly Springs, a small town in Northern Mississippi. ^{[1] [2]}

Mississippi Synodical College had its basis in a 19th-century women's college. ^[3] It became the Mississippi Synodical College in 1903, after the Presbyterian synodical lines were updated and the college fell under the control of the Mississippi Synod. ^[3] It was a two-year women's college with a preparatory lower school. ^[3] Eventually, enrollment grew beyond the capacity of the college's two antebellum houses. ^[3] The college relocated the old Hull Place and undertook construction of an administration building, a two-story auditorium, and a connecting hallway between the classroom and the original Watson House. ^[3]

Mississippi Synodical College became the first two-year college in Mississippi to receive state accreditation in 1916. ^[3] Its students enjoyed typical campus activities, including a chapter of Sigma Iota Chi. ^[4] The college increased its enrollment and expanded onto newly purchased property in the 1920s, adding dormitories and a headmaster's house. ^[3] Other additions included a tennis court and a gymnasium with a swimming pool. ^[3]

However, enrollment dropped during the Great Depression. ^[3] The college was merged with Belhaven College in 1939. ^[5] Its remaining students were moved to the Belhave campus in Jackson, Mississippi. ^[3] Watson House and Hull Place were razed around 1940, making way for the Old North Mississippi Hospital in 1941. ^[3] Meanwhile, a Classical Revival building on the east side was razed. ^[6] An hospital-associated nursing school used the college's administrative building, dormitories, and gymnasium. ^[3] When the hospital and nursing school closed in 1970, the college's form administrative building became the Marshall County Historical Museum. ^{[3] [6] [7]}

As a contributing property to the East Holly Springs Historic District, ^{[1] [2]} former Mississippi Synodical College administrative building has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since April 20, 1983. ^[8] It is also a Mississippi Landmark. ^[2]

Architecture

Mississippi Synodical College was designed as a three-story, hip-roofed building made with red bricks. ^{[1] [2]}

References

1. "National Register of Historic Places Inventory--Registration Form: East Holly Springs Historic District". National Park Service. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
2. "Mississippi Synodical College [Marshall County Historical Society and Museum]". Mississippi Department of Archives and History . Retrieved September 8, 2015.
3. "Mississippi Synodical College (1864)". Hill Country History. June 23, 2016. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
4. Lurding, Carroll and Becque, Fran. (July 11, 2025) "Sigma Iota Chi". Almanac of Fraternities and Sororities. Urbana: University of Illinois. Accessed October 16, 2025.
5. Waibel, Paul (2000). Belhaven College. Mount Pleasant, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing Company. p. 32. ISBN   9780738506128.
6. Long, Alice; Ridge, Mark L. (2006). Holly Springs. Mount Pleasant, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing Company. p. 32. ISBN   9780738542294.
7. "Our History". Marshall County Historical Museum. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
8. "East Holly Springs Historic District". National Park Service. Retrieved September 8, 2015.