The purpose of this project and website is to document the renaming of Trinkle Hall to James Farmer Hall and to honor the legacy that James Farmer left at the University of Mary Washington. In order to document the renaming process of James Farmer Hall, we created a timeline and used information from the Board of Visitors minutes. We also interviewed individuals who were involved in the Ad Hoc Renaming Committee and others who are dedicated to preserving and furthering Dr. Farmer’s legacy here at UMW. We want this website to document this important name change on the UMW campus and serve as a hub to spread awareness and information on who James Farmer was. If you have any questions or would like to contact us, our email is jamesfarmerhallhistory@gmail.com.

Theme Color

Why purple? We chose purple as the theme color of our website because Wiley College, in Marshall, Texas, was Dr. James Farmer’s alma mater. Purple and white are the college’s colors. Today, purple has come to represent Dr. Farmer on the UMW campus, especially at the James Farmer Multicultural Center.

Meet the Team

Sophia Hobbs is a senior majoring in history and in the College of Education. After graduation, she will earn her Master’s in Secondary Education at UMW and will pursue a graduate certification in ESOL at George Mason University. Sophia plans on teaching social studies to grades 6-12 in the DC/Maryland/Virginia area.

Yenevi Garcia is a senior at UMW majoring in business administration and minoring in digital studies. She plans to graduate July 2022 and get a job in her field of interest. Yenevi spends most of her time studying and working, and in her free time she loves traveling to New York City.

Olivia Foster is a junior majoring in history, minoring in Latin American Studies, and is in the College of Education at UMW. After graduation, Olivia will pursue her Master’s in Secondary Education and plans to teach grades 6-12 history and social sciences.

Jesse Frye is a junior at UMW majoring in American Studies and minoring in Digital Studies. He has worked with Appalshop to produce short documentaries about the Appalachian region and plans to continue to work in the field of documentary filmmaking.

Special Thanks

Special thanks to Dr. Erin Devlin, Dr. Marjorie Och,  Mr. James Pape, Ms. Michelle Pickham, Brianna Reaves, Dr. Marion Sanford, and Mr. Christopher Williams for helping us create this project to honor Dr. James Farmer and his legacy at the University of Mary Washington. Another special thank you to Dr. Jeff McClurken for assisting us this semester and serving as our advisor throughout HIST 428.