Location Information
(for the Oakland Chapel)
Name:Oakland Chapel
Address:Alcorn State University
City/County:Alcorn, Claiborne County
Architectural Information
Construction Date:1840-51
Architectural Styles(s):Greek Revival
Registration Information
NHL Listing Date:11 May 1976
NR Listing Date:07 Dec 1974
NR District Name:Alcorn State University (1982)
    NR Status:Contributing
    Element No.:3
View National Register Nomination Form
Mississippi Landmark Information
Designated:09-26-1985
Recorded:11-12-1985
Book/Vol. No.:V. 11-T, p. 349
Local Designation Information
Local District Name:Alcorn State University District
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Local Landmark Listing Date:25 Nov 1991
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Context/Comments
Begun in 1838 as the main building of Oakland College, it is now the most prominent historic building of Alcorn State University, the first land-grant college for African Americans in the nation, which was established as Alcorn A&M College in 1871.

Oakland Chapel was listed on the National Register on 7 December 1974, and it was designated a National Historic Landmark on 11 May 1976. It was later included as an element (element #49) in the Alcorn State University Historic District, which was placed on the National Register on 20 May 1982. The building was designated a Mississippi Landmark on 26 September 1985.

It is included in "Historic Architecture in Mississippi" (1973) (pp.61-62), "Architecture in Claiborne County, Mississippi" (1974) (pp.81-82), "The State of Mississippi – Historic Properties" (1982) (p. 4), "Must See Mississippi" (2007) (pp. 41-44), and "Buildings in Mississippi" (2020) (p.65, in the listing for Alcorn State University, ND80). [HABS MS-202 (1972)]
Brief Description
Oakland Chapel is a temple-form Greek Revival brick auditorium with a two-story-high interior space, raised upon a a lower story that contained classrooms. Across the front of the building is a hexastyle portico. The iron steps leading to the portico were formerly the front steps of "Windsor" (021-ALC-1001).