Located on central campus, Fleming opened as a residence hall for women in 1923 to alleviate overcrowding. Nearly identical to the original dormitories, Jarvis and Wilson, its brick structure reflects the Spanish-mission style. The dorm is named for Pitt County native James Lawson Fleming, lawyer and state senator, who introduced the legislation which established East Carolina Teachers Training School. In 1990, Fleming became a dormitory specifically housing ECU Honors students, Teaching Fellows, and University Scholars.
- Other names
- Girls Dormitory, Dormitory A
- Built
- 1922/23
- Construction cost
- $163,200
- Gross sq. ft.
- 32,428
- Assignable sq. ft.
- 23,225
- Architects
- H.A. Underwood, Engineer, Raleigh
- Namesake
- James Lawson Fleming (1867-1909), lawyer and state senator (1905-1909) from Pitt County, introduced the legislation to establish East Carolina Teachers Training School.
A brief biography of James L. Fleming appeared in the April, May, June 1914 issue of the Training School Quarterly. It is as followsWhenever beginnings are sought and the early days of the Training School recorded the name of James Lawson Fleming, will appear.
Descended from sturdy, honest, industrious and noble ancestry, he inherited their sterling qualities, while his early life spent on a farm served to develop his body and to give him that independence of spirit that comes from contact with the freedom of country life. As a boy he attended the country schools and knew the advantages and disadvantages to which the rural school is subject. Later he became a pupil of W. H. Ragsdale, then teaching in the Greenville Academy, by whom he was prepared for Wake Forest College. After graduation from college he taught for a year, then read law with Latham and Skinner, of Greenville. Later he attended the Law School of the University of North Carolina. He was admitted to the bar in 1892, and located in Greenville, where he soon built up a lucrative practice and at the time of his death he possessed a large practice in the Superior, Supreme, and Federal Courts. Soon after locating in Greenville he was elected mayor of the town, and served his term of office to the satisfaction of his fellow citizens. In 1904 he was elected by a large majority to represent the county of Pitt in the Senate, and again in 1906. As Senator from Pitt in 1905 and 1907 his services were marked by vigor and distinction.
Among the important measures which engaged his attention, education in Eastern Carolina was not least. Upon his election in 1906 he agreed to introduce a bill to establish such a school in the eastern part of the State as had become the dream and the hope of the educational leaders of the eastern section of the State. When the General Assembly met, Senator Fleming introduced the bill but its career was not an easy one.
A similar bill from Elizabeth City had been killed by the previous General Assembly. There was stubborn opposition on the part of those who did not realize the needs of the eastern section, and who did not favor the State’s increasing the number of schools already established. Under Senator Fleming’s wise guidance, however, and by his tireless efforts, in season and out of season, the bill was so successfully presented that those who had fought it became its friends, and those disinterested became interested. The bill passed, and the East Carolina Teachers Training School became a reality. It remained to secure the school for Greenville and here again Senator Fleming used his tireless energy to secure the location in Greenville.
Two years later, just one month after the buildings were completed and the school was opened, on November 5, 1909, he was killed in an automobile accident, and it was left for others to see and realize what the establishment of the East Carolina Teachers Training School, for which he had labored so earnestly and so successfully, was to mean to its section of the State. He was truly one of its founders and his work as a founder had been so well done that it was easier for others to continue to work for the maintenance and support of the school.
- History
- East Carolina quickly established its reputation as a fine teachers training school. Qualified applicants were turned away for lack of space. In 1923, Fleming Dormitory was built to help alleviate space problems. The contract included additions to Administration Building in the total cost of $163,200. $80,000 of that amount was set aside by the Board of Trustees for the erection of Fleming Hall.
The sturdy brick structure was designed as a near replica of the original dormitory buildings, Jarvis and Wilson dormitories.In 1990 Fleming was designated to be a special dorm that housed only Honors students, Teaching Fellows, and University Scholars.
- Additions
- 1984 – Air conditioning installed and other renovations
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