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Martha Wilson House
is one of the 10 houses of "the
Quad." The complex was built in stages starting in 1922,
when a housing shortage prevented all students from living
on campus. When all the houses were completed in 1936, William
Allen Neilson, then the president of Smith, pronounced it
the "Great Quadrangle."
 Wilson House was named for Martha
Wilson, a graduate of Smith with the class of 1895. She was
president of her college house during her time at Smith,
and a member of student council. She was the president of
the Chicago Smith Club from 1901-04, founder of the Central
Council of Nursing Education, and trustee of Children's Memorial
Hospital, Chicago. She died in 1923.
Wilson, along with
Morrow and Gardiner Houses, was built in 1926. Since the
Quad is a ten minute walk from most of
the academic buildings and a fifteen minute walk from downtown
Northampton, some students living there prefer to use a bicycle.
The covered entrance of Wilson provides a safe and dry spot
to keep bikes overnight. The path from the Quad to the center
of campus passes the President's house and offers a view
of Paradise Pond and its island.
On the first floor of the house is a large, spacious living room. The television set and piano draw the residents of Wilson to this room. The house's copies of the New York Times and the Boston Globe are available downstairs each morning. Near the living room, there is a study room which is always quiet.
Wilson is the largest house on campus with 102 students living in 78 single rooms and 12 double rooms. All the rooms have hardwood floors and good-sized closets; some of the double rooms have large bay windows and window seats. Each floor has a bathroom and every room is wired for CyberSmith.
Unique
to Wilson are its raised front steps and bell tower. The
terrace forms the platform where commencement exercises
are held each May.
In the summer of 1995, the old
slate roof was replaced with new Vermont slate. Additionally,
new
carpets were installed
in the corridors.
Martha Wilson House / Kathleen Crowe '99 |
