A Pictorial Diary of my visit to Berry College

06 Dec A Pictorial Diary of my visit to Berry College

Posted at 11:00h in North America, Travel Advice by Renee King 2 Comments

This past Saturday, I had the pleasure of visiting a local college campus that I had vaguely heard of since I live in Metro Atlanta. However, until recently, I had no idea how uniquely beautiful this school was, so I had to plan a visit to see it in person for myself. But first, here’s a little background: Berry College is a private, Christian college which was founded in 1902 by Mary Berry, the daughter of a well to do planter and cotton broker.

After realizing that the local planter’s children were illiterate, she decided to open the school and devoted her life to assuring that they learned the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic. They earned their keep by helping to build what is now known as Berry College.

The campus is so picturesque that Hollywood has come calling several times to film movies like “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Remember the Titans”. Come along with me as I discover the surreal beauty of this campus:

When you enter the main gate, you will see signage directing you to the far right lane. A security officer will come out to greet you, scan your driver’s license, give you a map and explain how to get to all of the major points of interest. It goes without saying that southern hospitality is alive and well here at Berry College. She couldn’t have been nicer!

After passing the Hermann Hall Administrative building, we decided to take a right on the roundabout to take in the illustrious beauty of the Ford Complex which is an amazing take on nouveau English Gothic architecture. This complex was gifted to Mary Berry by Mr. and Mrs. Henry Ford as a show of their commitment to supporting her work. I can’t express how amazed we were to see what stood before us:

This complex houses the school’s Alumni Center, Music conservatory, student residences, dining hall, Admissions Office and Gymnasium. It was early Saturday morning so it was extremely quiet and peaceful, so we opted to spend some time walking around and taking in our surroundings. We felt privileged to have the complex to ourselves before everyone else woke up.

Next, we decided that we wanted to take a look at the rest of the campus buildings like the chapels, the other classroom halls and any other unique features that might pique our interests.

We drove around and took note of all of the various buildings that housed more student residences, Child development centers, Health, Residence life and Student centers, SGA, bookstore and Lecture halls. Each building was special in its own right. There were three guest cottages to house visiting family members which made sense because the campus is so large and its easier than renting a distant hotel room.

The chapels were gorgeous. Many people reserve them for weddings and I can certainly see why. The Berry College Chapel was the only one that was locked; presumably, because it’s routinely used by personnel. We were able to enter Barnwell Chapel which was built in 1911 and was the most rustic of the three. It has a log cabin feel and was rehabbed 31 years ago.

Frost Memorial Chapel was the most beautiful. Built in 1936, it featured wooden beamed ceilings, a flagstone floor, leaded glass windows, slate roof and three beautiful stained glass windows. The church was already occupied by one lone visitor, a woman who was listening to music while doing yoga. It was such a lovely surprise, I asked if she wouldn’t mind me taking a picture of her doing one of her poses and she consented.

Most of the acreage is comprised of towering trees of varying autumnal colors and roaming wildlife.

The Old Grist Mill was a favorite. It was built in 1930 and has a reflection pond. It is off the beaten path on campus, so be prepared to drive on a lengthy unpaved road to get there. It’s worth the trouble, though!