I came across this photo of an off-campus boarding house for Jacksonville State University in Alabama, taken in 1905. This picture doesn’t come with any extra information except that it was on West College Street. The rest is up to our interpretation.

So many things about this situation are radically different from today, it’s hard to even imagine what it would be like to live there!  It’s a bit like a halfway house between a dorm and an off-site apartment.

Far from an off-campus apartment today, it looks like these students lived with the older couple seated at the center of the photo. They probably provided meals as well as a bedroom for each boarder.  I may be reading a lot into the picture, but I imagine there were strict rules about coming and going, how you dressed and conducted yourself, and possibly doing some chores. It’s also curious that the university had a professional, formal photograph made of this group.

What do you make of it?

From Jacksonville State University digital library