Judson Library

Before we completely leave the subject of libraries , it is very important to mention the significance of this building right here, the Judson Library. Look across this entrance, the road to Heritage Green, where the historical marker is, is the exact spot where the library of the Greenville Women's College stood.

This library is named after me, Mary Camilla Judson. Being rejected from Yale just foro being a woman, I’ve dedicated my life to the Greenville Women’s College and expanding educational opportunities for women. From 1878 to about 1912, I served as the principal while my brother was President of the GWC. From 1925, prior to my time as principal, I taught at The Johnson Female University, and at Anderson University. While I was serving as principal, I taught almost every subject offered, which included English, Physics, Astronomy, Botany, and French. I also promoted the first calisthenics program for women in the South! This structure was named after me just four years after my retirement.

The building that housed it was originally built in 1823 as part of the Greenville Male Academy, it was sold to the Orr family in the early part of 1869 as a private residence. Later it was reacquired by the GWC in 1912. The special thing about this significant building is that the students I taught in Judson Literary Society, which is named after my brother Charles H. Judson, raised money to buy this beautiful library in my honor. With his help and encouragement towards patrons to donate 25 cents each term, we eventually succeeded.

This officially opened in 1916, though the building was still undergoing renovations until 1924. The library was an important building to my students and years later the Alumnae Association of Furman showed their appreciation as they raised $20,000 to remodel it.

Even with the huge impact that I made on the women at the GWU, many people thought this library building was named after my brother Charles Judson. It was highly unusual to have significant buildings named after a woman, making this another one of Heritage Green's firsts.

My name still lives on to this day, as a bookstore in the heart of Greenville's Main Street, and at Furman University’s current campus as a hall in the Lakeside dormitory (alongside my brother, who I'm happy to share the honor with!). Even with those two named locations, few Greenville residents are aware that I lived in their hometown!

Sources Used:

Judith T. Bainbridge, Academy and College: The History of the Woman's College of Furman University. Mercer University Press, 2001.

Bulletin: Greenville Women’s College Vol. XXIII Greenville, SC, Feb. 1925 No. 2, Furman University Special Collections and Archives.