Isaac Hawkins Hall is a building on Georgetown University's campus and a part of the Jesuit Community (along with Gervase and Ryan Halls plus the Jesuit Cemetery). With Ryan Hall, it houses the Spirit of Georgetown Residential Academy, where 148 students live and have the "unique opportunity to reflect on their time at Georgetown through formative activities and events, founded on strong community engagement and ownership."1 From November 2015 to April 2017 it was known as Freedom Hall, and prior to November 2015 it was known as Mulledy Hall. Built in 1833, it is the fourth oldest building on campus, after Anne Marie Becraft Hall (1792), Old North (1795), and Gervase Hall (1830). It comprises 27,428 square feet.
Construction
Although the original cost of the building is unknown, records state that the University borrowed $10,000 from Susan Decatur to help fund its construction.
Facilities
The first floor was a student's dining room until December 7, 1904, when it became a part of the Jesuit residence. Also on the first floor is the Jesuit Domestic Chapel, built in 1904. The altar and statues in this chapel were donated by Mrs. Ida Ryan, the namesake of Ida Ryan Hall.
From 1833 to 1893, the second floor housed the College Chapel. When Dahlgren Chapel was built, this floor was converted for use as a student residence.
The third floor was originally an auditorium. In 1878 the construction of Memorial Hall (now Gaston Hall) replaced this function. This floor also featured a study hall until the construction of Riggs Library in 1889.
In 1947, a fire severely damaged the building, completely destroying the fourth floor. The building was then rebuilt with more modern materials, such as structural steel to replace the wooden beams and concrete floors and asphalt tile to replace the wooden floors. In 1977, the first floor was renovated and central heating and cooling were added to the building.2
Isaac Hawkins, GU 272, and name change
The building's original name honored Father Thomas Mulledy, S.J., an alumnus who was also president of the University from 1829 to 1837 and again from 1845 to 1848. In November 2015, the University's Working Group on Slavery, Memory, and Reconciliation recommended the name be removed as a consequence of Mulledy's role in the 1838 sale of 272 enslaved people to raise funds for the University. It was temporarily renamed "Freedom Hall" to emphasize the fact that Mulledy denied the enslaved people their freedom.3
On April 18, 2017, the building's name was changed to Isaac Hawkins Hall in memory of the first enslaved person listed in the 1838 sale. The Working Group originally chose the name Isaac Hall since no surname appeared on the bill of sale, but further research identified his descendants' surname. The Georgetown Slavery Archives record that Hawkins was born around 1773 and spent most of his life up to 1838 on the Jesuits' White Marsh Plantation near modern-day Bowie, Maryland. He is believed to have been baptized there in 1777. Along with most of his family, he was moved to the area near Maringouin, Louisiana after the 1838 sale.4
- 1"Ida Ryan & Isaac Hawkins Hall." https://residentialliving.georgetown.edu/ryanisaac/
- 2Francis X. Ballman, "Mulledy Hall," Building Outlines Campus Buildings, 1789 – 1995, Father Lawrence Hurley Memorial Edition, Francis X. Ballmann and the Division of Facilities, 1995, pp. 67 - 68.
- 3"Statement and Recommendation by the Working Group on Slavery, Memory, and Reconciliation." https://president.georgetown.edu/update-on-slavery-memory-and-reconciliation-november-2015/
- 4"Georgetown to Rename Building for Isaac Hawkins, One of 272 Enslaved in 1838 Sale," April 13, 2017. https://www.georgetown.edu/news/georgetown-to-rename-building-for-isaac-hawkins-one-of-272-enslaved-in-1838-sale/
