Finger Lakes history · regional story
After the fire, Wells College moved into Aurora
A hotel, two Morgan houses and Morgan Hall helped Wells carry on after its main building burned. Replacing the library took a separate effort by former students and other donors.
When Wells College’s main building burned on August 9, 1888, the school’s next set of rooms was scattered around Aurora. Walter Irenaeus Lowe’s 1901 history names the places. The trustees hired the village hotel, which students called the Wayside Inn. The original Morgan homestead became the Tabard Inn; Mrs. Henry Morgan’s house served as the Annex. Morgan Hall took on most of the teaching. Wells College and Its Founders: An Historical Sketch.
The dates in Lowe’s account give that arrangement a duration. The replacement building’s Music Hall was ready for commencement in 1890, but full occupation followed in September. These were temporary quarters used while a new building took shape, not just a change of rooms for a few days. Wells College and Its Founders: An Historical Sketch.
The library needed rebuilding too. Lowe records two separate contributions by former students: $10,000 through the Eastern and Western Associations to finish and furnish the library room, and $3,000 shortly after the fire to buy books needed for classes. He also describes a memorial alcove given by Henry A. Morgan for his wife, Margaret Bogart Morgan. A room, books and a place to remember someone appear as different gifts in the account. Wells College and Its Founders: An Historical Sketch.
A later article by Wells librarian Tiffany Raymond also describes village housing, Morgan Hall classes and an appeal for books. It reports a two-week delay to the fall term. That article and Lowe’s book belong to the college’s own record of the recovery; they are not two independent investigations of the fire. Old Main Building.
Lowe’s story is celebratory. The useful details here are the named buildings, the 1890 return and the separate work of replacing a library. His praise cannot tell us how every student experienced those years, or what the temporary arrangements cost the people who lived and worked in them.
Sources & research notes
Review status: Developing history. Human editorial review is pending.
Written and source-checked with AI assistance under an owner-authorized editorial process. This is not a personal review by Riley or an independent historian. Sources and unresolved questions are listed below; corrections are welcome.
- What the records establish
- The inspected college history documents temporary village quarters, the 1890 occupation of the replacement building and attributed library contributions. The later library account preserves the same broad recovery story.
- What remains uncertain
- We have not inspected the original leases, trustee accounts, fire investigation, individual student letters or library acquisition ledger. Gift amounts are the 1901 history’s figures. The exact fire cause and each resident’s experience remain outside this account.
- What we are researching next
- Find trustee minutes and property/lease records for the named temporary buildings, compare students’ letters, and trace the separate room and book gifts through accounts. Do not identify a present property or advertise access without a separate current check.
Sources
- Wells College and Its Founders: An Historical Sketch — Walter Irenaeus Lowe; 1901. Locator: Title page / PDF 5 and printer imprint / PDF 6; printed 12–15 / PDF 16–19: Aurora location, August 9, 1888 main-hall fire, named temporary village buildings, 1890 occupation, library contributions and Margaret Bogart Morgan memorial alcove. Printed 18 / PDF 22, opening paragraph: institutional description of student self-government, responsibility for community life and musical, athletic and literary clubs. This passage supplies no 1897 adoption date or text of a signed code.. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- Old Main Building — Tiffany Raymond, Reference and Instruction Librarian, Wells College Long Library; November 3, 2016. Locator: Complete article, final narrative paragraph beginning The destruction of the building: two-week delay, village housing, Morgan Hall classes and appeal for replacement library books; author/byline and archival attribution follow.. Accessed October 22, 2026.