View of the Campus, 1855.
This view of the campus shows most of the buildings that existed in 1855. The tall, slender structure near the center is the old belfry, constructed in 1826 by William Nichols after the original cupola was removed from South Building. We know that Nichols used slave labor on other projects, so he may also have had slaves working on the belfry. The belfry housed the college bell, which rang to wake the students each morning and to summon them to chapel and to recitations. During the night of 9-10 August 1856, it burned as the result of some student antics. From North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives.