For Mississippi State University alumni of a certain age, it’s common knowledge that the late John C. Stennis, G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery and Jim Buck Ross were all among the distinguished alums who lived in Old Main dormitory during part of it’s 80-year existence at the heart of the

Starkville campus.

Built in 1880, the building had additions constructed in 1901, 1903, 1906, and 1922. The building was so large that areas within it were dubbed with “neighborhood” nicknames, the best known being “Polecat Alley,” a moniker that had something to do with a lingering odor, but one that implied status among the students.

Largest dorm in the U.S.

Old Main was the first residence hall built at MSU. Records indicate that

Old Main, once the largest student dormitory in America under one roof, housed some 40,000 MSU students during the building’s illustrious history. The old saying among older MSU alums has always been: “Yeah, and at least

39,997 of them claimed to have roomed with either Stennis, Montgomery or

Ross on ‘Polecat Alley’.”

On the bitterly cold night of  January 22, 1959, Old Main housed just over 1,100 students. Fire broke out in the dormitory late on the evening of Jan.

22 and due to the building’s age and insufficient sprinkler system, the grand old building succumbed to the flames and was still smoldering on the morning of Jan. 23.

Authorities believed the fire started when one of the students living there overturned one of the decorative candelabra in the building. The building was famous for those adornments, including one famous gold candelabrum created in 1932 by Belgian artist Didier Bonvitesse.

One student died in the blaze.

As a memorial to that fallen student and as a means of preserving the institutional memories of Ole Main, the university marshalled some key donors to design and construct the Chapel of Memories on the campus. The chapel was constructed utilizing bricks salvaged from the Old Main dormitory fire. A major challenge of the project was the incorporation of a

112-foot tower, housing a 183-bell carillon, into the chapel’s design.

Chapel: Wedding Venue

The completed Chapel of Memories was dedicated on October 8, 1965. The chapel used regularly for services held by various religious groups on campus and remains a popular wedding venue for people with ties to Mississippi State. It has likewise been the venue for funerals.

The university built three temporary dormitories Stafford, Freeman and Bishop halls, to house the students made homeless by the Old Main fire.

Those building now house the university’s art department.

The Old Main fire has been the inspiration for at least two books, one by retired MSU history professors Charles Lowery and Roy V. Scott who in 1995 wrote a book titled Old Main: Images of a Legend. That book was dedicated to the historic preservation of Old Main Dormitory. The book detailed memories from past residents and provided some background history of the building.

In addition to Scott and Lowery’s book, Old Main’s demise inspired a whodunit novel by Vicksburg retiree Joe Woods called Old Main Burning: A Tale of Love and Murder in Mississippi.

Thursday, Jan. 22 is the 50th anniversary of the tragic fire. My father was one of those 40,000 MSU alums who lived in Old Main dorm. He didn’t room with Montgomery or Ross, but they were friends.

We never set foot on the MSU campus that my father didn’t mention Old Main.

The old building became symbolic of the university old and new, rising from tragedies and evolving into something newer, better and more enduring.

Fifty years later, MSU folks remember.

(Contact Perspective Editor Sid Salter at ssalter@ clarionledger.com.)