Duke University. Jarvis House.

Jarvis is home to approximately 90 first-year students on Duke University's East Campus. Opened in 1914, the building was named after Thomas J. Jarvis, Governor of North Carolina from 1879-1885. Originally serving as a residence for women students, Jarvis now serves as a co-ed freshman dormitory.

From the description of Jarvis House records, 1946-1981 (bulk 1966-1977). (Duke University Library). WorldCat record id: 161912932

The Jarvis Residence Hall, named for former North Carolina Governor Thomas J. Jarvis, was considered to be cutting-edge in architectural design, adding great aesthetical value to Trinity College's campus (now the East Campus of Duke University). Like its nearby twin, Aycock Hall, Jarvis was built of white pressed brick and Indiana sandstone and roofed with green tile. When completed and occupied in October 1912, the building was three stories high and divided into five separate sections by solid firewalls extending from the ground to the roof. Jarvis had such amenities as a large social room, two complete kitchens, and a pressing room on each floor. Built to house 120 students, it was home to men from 1912 to 1930. Jarvis Hall also housed the campus post office between 1912 and 1928. In 1930, the new West Campus opened and what had been the Trinity College campus (now East Campus) became the Woman's College of Duke University.

Jarvis House has been a non-selective women's residence hall since around 1930. In 1977, during an effort to equalize the balance of men and women on west campus, Housing Affairs administrators proposed to move residents of Jarvis Hall to housing blocks on West Campus. Jarvis residents protested the move and remained on East campus next to the Carr Building and West Duke Building.

As a residential unit, Jarvis House was at times governed by the Office of Student Affairs, Office of Housing Management, the Women's Student Government Association, the Residential Life Committee, the Community Council of the Woman's College, and the Association of Independent Houses.

From the guide to the Jarvis House records, 1946-1981 (bulk 1966-1977), (University Archives, Duke University)