Stanhope Hall
Erected in 1803, Stanhope Hall is the University's third oldest building—after Nassau Hall and Maclean House. Originally housing the college library, study halls, and two literary societies, Whig and Clio, it later became the site of administrative offices for the University. In 1915 the University Trustees gave it its present name in honor of Samuel Stanhope Smith, the seventh president of Princeton University, who oversaw its construction. In response to the growing racism in nineteenth-century ethnological studies, Smith delivered the lecture “An Essay on the Causes of the Variety of Complexion and Figure in the Human Species” to the American Philosophical Society, arguing that all humankind belongs to the same family and that diversity within the species should be attributed to environmental influences. Despite his recognition of the shared characteristics of humankind, Smith owned slaves. Stanhope Hall underwent a complete renovation 2007, preserving many of its period details, and is now home to the Office of the Dean of the Faculty.
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