Rutherford Roland Hall Memorial

Rutherford Roland Hall, was a member of Washington and Lee’s Class of 1921 from Moorefield, West Virginia. He distinguished himself particularly through writing, journalism, and student leadership, rising through the staff of the Ring-tum Phi to become its editor-in-chief during his senior year. His Calyx senior sketch praised his “versatile ability,” observing that “especially along journalistic lines” had Hall distinguished himself, culminating in his editorship of the University newspaper. He was also active in literary society work and the Southern Intercollegiate Newspaper Association.

Hall drowned while swimming in the North River on May 29, 1921, only days before his graduation. When word reached Lexington, President Henry Louis Smith and groups of students quickly drove to the river to assist in the effort to save and recover him. News of his death cast a pall over the University at what should have been the celebratory close of his senior year. The Ring-tum Phi devoted substantial attention to the loss of its former editor and classmate.

The W&L community subsequently joined together to create a permanent memorial to Hall. The eighteen-by-twenty-four-inch bronze tablet cost approximately $200, of which faculty members and students contributed $125 and the Ring-tum Phi contributed $75. Its inscription declared that the tablet was “affectionately dedicated by the faculty and his fellow students” and concluded with lines from Milton's Lycidas. On June 12, 1922, the completed memorial was jointly presented to President Smith in Lee Chapel by The Phi’s business manager and editor-in-chief. The presentation was said to have paid “a high tribute to the one for which the tablet is a memorial.”

University officials removed the plaque alongside other memorials from the Chapel sanctuary in 2021.

TO THE MEMORY OF
RUTHERFORD ROLAND HALL
DROWNED IN NORTH RIVER, MAY 29, 1921,
ON THE EVE OF GRADUATION,
THIS TABLET IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED
BY THE FACULTY AND HIS FELLOW-STUDENTS.
SO LYCIDAS SUNK LOW, BUT MOUNTED HIGH,
THROUGH THE DEAR MIGHT OF HIM THAT WALKED THE WAVES,
WHERE, OTHER GROVES AND OTHER STREAMS ALONG,
WITH NECTAR PURE HIS OOZY LOCKS HE LAVES,
AND HEARS THE UNEXPRESSIVE NUPTIAL SONG,
IN THE BLEST KINGDOMS MEEK OF JOY AND LOVE.

On June 4, 2021, the Washington and Lee University Board of Trustees announced plans to rename Lee Chapel and restore its auditorium to an “unadorned design,” physically separating it from the Lee family crypt and memorial sculpture. As part of these changes, university officials removed twenty historical plaques and memorials from the chapel sanctuary.

In a July 21, 2022, update, the university explained that the removed plaques and artifacts had been relocated to other exhibits or placed in temporary storage pending renovations. It further announced that “most of the other plaques will be moved to the galleries in the building or to the new institutional history museum, where they can be displayed with more historical context.” The university has not publicly announced plans for the reinstallation or exhibition of this particular memorial.

The university has not responded to recent TGR inquiries concerning the whereabouts and future exhibition of removed plaques. However, in September 2026 correspondence with The W&L Spectator, Museum Director Matt Davis stated: “Our storage facility is not open to the public, nor do we make a list of our collections inventory available to the public.” He further explained that “the size and weight of some of these artifacts are not conducive to public viewing.” Regarding their future exhibition, Davis wrote: “It is possible that some or all of these artifacts will eventually be incorporated into temporary or permanent exhibits once the new museum is open, and we hope to have online databases and viewing rooms in the future.”

1. https://digitalarchive.wlu.edu/islandora/ring-tum-phi-june-4-1921?search_api_fulltext

2. https://digitalarchive.wlu.edu/islandora/ring-tum-phi-january-14-1922?search_api_fulltext

3. https://digitalarchive.wlu.edu/islandora/ring-tum-phi-june-12-1922?search_api_fulltext

4. https://www.wlu.edu/about-w-l/leadership/board-of-trustees/messages-from-the-board-of-trustees/message-archive-2020-2023/the-future-of-washington-and-lee-university

5. https://columns.wlu.edu/update-on-university-chapel-renovations/