A History of Brougher Hall

By: Natascha Lambing

With recent news of upcoming renovations to George Fox University’s (GFU) Newberg campus, Brougher Hall is among the buildings slated to be demolished (the facilities it houses to be rehomed), but its rich and unique history will not disappear.

The original framework of Brougher Hall dates back to the early days of World War II, from one of Oregon’s largest military training bases. Known as Camp Adair near Corvallis, Oregon, the 56,000 acre training camp was active from 1942 to 1944, training over 100,000 soldiers for combat. Residing on historically Kalapuyan land, approximately 6,000 settlers were relocated to allow for its construction beginning in late 1941, eventually boasting 1,700 buildings, according to the Benton County Museum. The location is speculated to have been used as a training location due to its naturally similar conditions to Germany, its heavy rain and opportunity for standing water earning it the nickname “Swamp Adair.” Following the departure of the last division of the military in July of 1944, Camp Adair was used to house German and Italian prisoners of war until at least 1946.

Brougher Hall. Photo courtesy: GFU Archives

By 1947, Camp Adair was officially deemed military surplus, and began to be dismantled. During this same period, GFU saw a dramatic increase in enrollment, necessitating the construction of new infrastructure. To meet the need, GFU purchased several of Camp Adair’s barracks, fashioning them into a dining hall, veterans housing, married student housing, and music and fine arts buildings. The only remaining building is that which students know as Brougher Hall.

Serving as the “Science Hall '' for over a decade, the building was renamed “Brougher Hall” as a gesture of thanks to Dr. John C. and Esther Brougher in the early 1960s for funding renovations and additions to the building. These renovations included a larger physics laboratory, a classroom, offices, and a “second exit.” At the time, it cost approximately $33,000 to complete the project.

As a local doctor, John C. Brougher served on the GFU’s board of trustees for thirty years, also heavily contributing to the establishment of the George Fox Museum, which held prior residence in Brougher Hall. In addition to serving as curator to the collection for several years and donating pieces of his own antique medical equipment, Brougher was awarded an honorary doctorate from the university in 1973. Brougher retired at Friendsview Manor to be near GFU’s Newberg campus, and passed away in 1983.

As the university grew, the science department eventually moved to Edwards-Holman Science Center, and Brougher Hall became the home of the visual arts department. Today, it contains classrooms, Studio 3, Print Making, Glass Making, and the Cutting Room.

I have visited Brougher only in the early morning and late evening hours when its halls are devoid of students, leaving it hauntingly quiet, filled only with the ghosts of students past. The walls are decorated with tasteful displays of student work and advertisements for upcoming showings. A peek into its rooms reveals spaces rich with artistic character, making it difficult to imagine the building as the place for biology labs, let alone soldiers training for combat. Indeed, Brougher has housed many diverse stories within its walls, but as with every story, these must come to an end.