Vanderbilt Honors Woman Who Provided the Land for the University’s Campus

Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, is currently constructing s $115 million residence hall project that will include two buildings, each with two separate halls of rooms. Each building will have space for about 330 students.

One of the halls is being named to honor Elizabeth Boddie Elliston (1820-1904), a philanthropist who sold a large tract of land that was used as the site of the original campus of the university. The sale price was $5. Over the next 12 years, she sold four more tracts of land that were used to expand the university campus.

Elliston was the founder and first president of the Vanderbilt Aid Society which provided financial assistance to needy students.