Lyceum–The Circle Historic District
The Lyceum–The Circle Historic District is a historic district within the University of Mississippi campus in Oxford, Mississippi. It includes eight buildings and several monuments lining University Circle, and surrounds "The Circle" on the campus. The university was established as the flagship public institution of the state, and generations of leading families' sons and daughters have studied here.
The district is also significant for its association with the civil rights movement during the Ole Miss riot of 1962 and the increasing role the Federal government took to preserve constitutional rights of minorities. Ole Miss was integrated by the enrollment of James H. Meredith, an African-American military veteran, on October 1, 1962. In Mississippi in the fall of 1962, there was violent resistance to court-ordered desegregation of the university. The violence required intervention by the Federal government to protect the safety of citizens.
Meredith's admission was followed by riots on the campus, by both white students and outside segregationists who gathered there from around the state. The disturbances took place following court decisions for integration of public educational institutions, during the civil rights movement. This historic district was designated as a U.S. National Historic Landmark on October 7, 2008.
Elements of the district
Located at the center of the University of Mississippi campus, the district contains eight academic buildings arranged on University Circle, which encompasses an interior common area dubbed "The Circle," a historic site in the district. The eight buildings include the Lyceum Building, Brevard Hall, the Croft Institute for International Studies, and Carrier, Shoemaker, Ventress, Bryant, and Peabody dormitory halls. The district also includes the flagpole in the center of The Circle, the Confederate Monument in The Circle, and University Circle.Lyceum Building
Construction on the Lyceum was begun in the spring of 1846 and was completed in the late summer of 1848, just in time to receive the university's first class of students. The building was originally the only academic structure of the university, containing a lecture hall, several lecture rooms, the faculty offices, a geological museum, and the university library. It was designed by famed southern architect William Nichols.Today, the Lyceum remains the oldest building on the university campus. It now houses the university's administrative offices, including the offices of the Chancellor and the Provost. Its columned facade is represented on the official crest of the university.
The Circle
The Circle is surrounded by University Circle, a road designed for one-way traffic. The area contains oak and magnolia trees, beds of pansies, and expanses of grass. A metal flagpole stands at the center of the green, serving as a hub for the sidewalk paths through the area. Since the mid-nineteenth century, The Circle has been the focal point and historic core of the Ole Miss campus.Flagpole
The flagpole has stood in the center of The Circle since 1962. Its brick base was constructed in 2000. During the famous desegregation riots, a former Ole Miss football player climbed the pole in an effort to attract rioters' attention and convince them to go home.Confederate Monument
A contextual plaque now stands in the same position where the Confederate Monument stood from 1906 until it was moved on July 14, 2020. The Confederate Monument was moved to the site of a Civil War cemetery in a secluded area of campus.The Confederate Monument contains a sub-column fashioned in the likeness of a castle, inscribed with the following: "To Our Confederate Dead, 1861-1865, Albert Sidney Johnston Chapter 379 U.D.C." and a Confederate soldier looking into the distance and holding a rifle at his side. It is often jokingly referred to by the Ole Miss and Oxford communities as the "second place trophy."