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)] |