Lincoln Hall and Manzanita Lake, ca.1896

Lincoln Hall is viewed from across Manzanita Lake. Lincoln Hall was the first men's dormitory built at the university. Prior to it's opening in 1896, male students slept up to four students to a bed on the top floor of the Mechanical Arts Building, also known as the Rampasture, until the fall of 1895 when a fire destroyed the living area. Lincoln Hall was built as an all-male dormitory built to house 100 students in 1896 and maintained its status as the oldest continuously-operating residence hall in the western United States until 2015. Manzanita Lake was made by damming up the irrigation "Orr Ditch" that still runs through parts of the university today. Originally a man-made ranchers’ pond, the lake came into existence with the help of Donor Clarence Mackay in 1911 as part of the university's beautification mission.