Urban legends about and related to William & Mary are nothing new on campus and off. An urban legend is defined by Merriam-Webster as "an often lurid story or anecdote that is based on hearsay and widely circulated as true". There are of course also William & Mary traditions and legends to be enjoyed as well.
Things Campus Tour Guides Got Wrong
Or "Lies My Campus Tour Guide Told Me."
When possible, include a note about when you heard the urban legend.
- The Crim Dell was ranked by Playboy magazine as the second most romantic spot on a college campus. Most recently, The Flat Hat debunked this in 2006: "Mark Duran, the research librarian at the Playboy Research Library in Chicago, classified the story as pure urban legend. "We have done those types of lists in the past, but William & Mary has never been on one of those lists," he said. In fact, the College has never even graced the pages of Hef's vaulted tome." (Overheard by acschi passing a tour group at the Crim Dell on 6/23/2010)
- Swem Library adds one million books to its collection every year. (Someone shared this with acschi in 2010 - is this true or an example of an urban legend among Swem staff?)
Urban Legends
- "College was invited to join the Ivy League in the 1950s, but declined. Another version states that there is a pending invitation to join." The Ivy League refers to an athletic conference formed in 1954 and there is no evidence that William & Mary, or another institution, was invited or declined.
- Morton Hall was built on a sinkhole and has been sinking into the ground for several years.4
- The Wren Building was designed by Sir Christopher Wren. In fact, Wren never actually visited North America. He was the Surveyor General under King William, so it is plausible that College President Reverend James Blair brought designs back with him after receiving the charter for the school. The prime piece of evidence that purports the attribution of the building's design to Wren is a book written by a William & Mary professor, Hugh Jones (for whom Jones Hall is named), in 1724, called The Present State of Virginia. There is a quotation that says, "The building is beautiful and commodious, being first modeled by Sir Christopher Wren, adapted to the nature of the country by the gentlemen there." Given the doubt surrounding the building's origins, Louise Kale, Executive Director of the Historic Campus summed up the current sentiment about the debate: "It may not be a Christopher Wren building, but it is the Christopher Wren Building".
- McGlothlin-Street Hall was built backwards. The building does look different from other buildings on the Old Campus, which can be attributed to the fact that it was built decades after the other buildings.
Material in the Special Collections Research Center
References
- The Flat Hat, 22 September 2006.
External Links
- "The Legend of Crim Dell and other Campus Rumors," Jay Busbee, class of 1990, William & Mary Alumni Magazine, Spring/Summer 2006, Vol. 71, No. 3/4.